Outlaw
by Miss Starfire
Summary: Continuation of Wanted: Misty and Gary are left with no option but to run away to save their lives. Who are they running away from? Why are they running away? They thought they knew, but they had no clue. COMPLETE
1. OMG SOS

**A/N:** Heya! I am back! You might be wondering why I am working on two stories, and the answer is that they are the same…somehow. Seeing that I have as many egoshippers as pokeshippers as readers, I've decided to continue the story in two simultaneous fics that branch out from "Wanted." If you are an egoshipper, you should read "Outlaw." If you are a pokeshipper, you should read "Unbreakable." If you are a double-shipper like me, catch up with both :) Both fics take place after the last chapter of "Wanted" and might cross at some point, but they are generally their own individual story. As happy as readers might be with this, this double writing also entitles that I will take longer to update because I won't update unless I have the corresponding chapter to each story. All or nothing, that's what I say! Anyway, I hope you enjoy either or, or both stories, and that they are good enough for you to stick to the end. Thank you for following me here. I wish you happy reading!

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 1: OMG SOS**

_Beep…beep…beep…_

_"How are they doing?"_

_Beep…beep…beep…_

_"Waterflower is delicate. Oak is stable. They were close to dying, though. But that should be the least of their worries…"_

_"I know! I heard the news too…"_

_"They are just kids…"_

_"It's so sad…"_

_Beep…beep……….beep…_

_"Waterflower's vital signals are collapsing again. Call Doctor Blake!"_

_Beep…………..beep………._

_"She needs to go into the ER…now!"_

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep…………………_

Gary's body was completely relaxed and warm under the soft and smooth blankets of the beds of Cerulean hospital. He slowly moved the fingers on his right hand, only to feel the pull back of the IV line in him. He flinched. He then moved his left hand aiming to reach the edge of the bed and felt the coldness of the metal grip that surrounded the left side of the bed, making him shiver for a quick instant. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled through his mouth though the exhaling quickly turned into a yawn. The anesthetic was still present in his body, and it made him tingle all around.

_"Where am I?"_

He opened and closed his eyes slowly several times, allowing his sight to adjust to the lack of light in the room. He looked around and saw a similar view of the four walls that had hosted Misty three times in the past six months. He wondered how in God's Earth _he_ had ended up here. Hospitals were a _Misty_ thing to do, not a _Gary_ thing to do.

_"Where's Misty?"_

He moved his head to his left and saw a closed curtain. There was no light coming inside the room, suggesting it was pretty late at night. There were no other noises but the beeping machines inside the room and the sound of his own breathing. He took another deep breath. The silence and calm around him was almost… _frightening_.

_"What am I doing here?"_ Paranoia was beginning to sink in.

A small light began illuminating the middle of the room, forcing Gary turn to his right to find the source of the brightness that broke into the darkness that currently surrounded him. He saw the light belonged to a small artifact on the edge of the make-believe nightstand in between his bed and the empty one next to him. It was his cell phone.

He slowly turned to his right, using his right arm to hold his weight as he used his left hand to reach the phone. He returned to his resting position and read the cover of his cell phone.

_"50 NEW MSG"_

Gary raised his eyebrows. He flipped open his phone and read the last message received.

_GT DA FUCK OUTTA DER NAO! DEI R COMIN 4U! B. Gall_

Gary cleared the screen only to realize today's date: it was Wednesday; two days after he was supposed to leave for Indigo Plateau to present his final report on the Gym. He did not know what had happened to him but he knew being in the hospital was a good reason not to be on time on his research for the League. He had wanted nothing more than to turn in his final report and quit. He was not going to allow Maya to blackmail him anymore; he was tired of the games. He did not care if the League told the world about his little badge incident. At this point, it did not matter to him at all. _"Fuck the League."_

He opened his cell phone again to read the other messages. He had already seen one; he only had forty-nine to go.

He scrolled down to the very first new message received, and it was dated Friday, 2:06 a.m. It was from his friend Becca Gall as well.

_"Dude, r u ok? Did u guys make it?"_

Gary frowned, not understanding what she was talking about. He closed that message and began reading the other ones, one after the other. The more he read, the more he remembered what had happened.

_"Is Misty ok? Did you guys burn bad?"_

_"OMG! I heard about the Pokemon! I'm so sorry!"_

_"Srsly, you are freaking me out! Answer me!"_

_"Did you guys die?"_

_"OMFG! The PL! The PL wants to press charges!"_

_"GARY! DAMMIT! GET OUT!"_

Gary read every single text message in his cell phone, and got exasperated at the increasingly aggravating tone Becca had with each passing message. He was slightly more confused than before, but he at least now remembered why he was in the hospital. The Pokemon Gym had burned down. The Pokemon had burned along with it; the only surviving Pokemon where the ones Misty had carried with her. He had saved her life yet again.

_Gary saw the huge flames coming out of the Pokemon Gym. The sounds of the sirens drew him crazy. He hated the sound of danger, especially when he knew it was Misty who was in peril. He turned to face Jake who had an awfully big smile on his face. He knew Gary was in pain, and he was enjoying the suffering he felt. _

_"Oh, well. I guess you didn't get to fuck her either."_

_Gary's eyes widened at the realization of how low Jake Dragon really was. He felt so naïve at the thought of ever feeling sorry for him, and for his Pokemon loss. Jake was an asshole; as real as they get._

_"You should've stayed a little longer like she asked you to. You'd be burning in hell together now."_

_Gary pressed Jake against the glass wall and punched him on the stomach. How Jake knew what they had talked about before he left was beyond him. He could not ask either. He had something more important that needed to be taken care of. He would just have to come back and hunt him when he was done._

_"Someday I'll find your sorry ass and we'll finish this. While that happens, I wanna give you a little something to remember me by."_

_"What would th— UGHH!"_

_Jake bent down and got on his knees. The ground in front of him became tainted with red stains coming from him nose, and the trail of blood could be followed on his clothes. Gary had punched him on the face, really hard. Gary stood up in front him, watching as he curled up on the floor and glared at Gary who was walking backwards making his way to the Gym. He held his testicles with his right hand as he pointed down to them with his left hand and spoke. "These are next, fucker."_

_He gave Jake that prideful smile he was known for before turning around and running as fast as he could towards the Gym, leaving his bags behind. He did not have anything important in them, anyway. He knew Jake would probably take them with him when he recovered from the punches, but he did not care. All he needed was his Pokemon belt, and he never took it off. _

Gary's reminiscing was cut off by the sound of squeaky wheels coming from the hall. His heart began pumping faster and the machine's beeping caught up with this. He took deep relaxing breaths to calm himself and prevent the machine from revealing his new current state. He placed his cell phone underneath him as he closed his eyes and became as still as possible. He did not know why he felt the need to hide his consciousness from the world but until he knew he was safe he would not risk losing his only contact with the outside. The beeping slowed down until it had become stable right before the doors were opened by a woman who held the door to a man pushing a gurney inside the room.

The man and woman were nurses and they had paid no heed to Gary's presence. They walked inside, closed the door, and began doing whatever business they had in the room. Gary wanted to open his eyes to see what was happening and find out who his new roommate was, but he remained perfectly still as the sounds of shuffling plastic and caps popping created images in his head. His ears paid closed attention to the sounds of the nurses lifting the other person's body from the gurney and carelessly dropping it on the bed next to him. He heard the Velcro straps being set back to place and the machines being placed back on the person's body.

"Saw the people downstairs?" The female nursed asked.

The male nursed nodded. "Word in the street's that they are police officers from the Pokemon League."

_"The League has officers?"_ Gary thought trying not to become too upset that the machine would give him off.

"I think they're waiting for this girl to wake up to take her away; never liked her anyway. She's an attention whore."

Gary could not help to furrow.

"I wish she was _just_ a whore. I don't believe the other guy was molesting her at the carnival. He musta been her personal _fucktor_."

"Yup, besides the Oak kid _and_ the Pokemon President's bitch."

"Ketchum, the future Pokemon Master?"

"_He_ won?"

"Not yet, but the Maya chic divided the Master and President positions. The tournament is this weekend, and guess _who_se name's on the list to participate?"

"The kid she _personally_ trained? No shit! The girl he got pregnant is on it too."

_"Dawn."_

"These kids should get a real job."

"A real job? Shit, if I was dating the future richest man on earth, I'd get pregnant from him too."

"I bet this bitch," he said while pointing at Misty with his chin since his hands were occupied "is banging herself against a wall for dumping him."

_"She's not."_

"No, _that_ fucker over there," she said as she pointed at Gary "is the one banging her now."

_"Motherfu…"_

The nurses chuckled. "We oughta hide a camera here and when they wake up and do it on the floor we can record it and make money out of it."

"Porn's not _that_ expensive. Don't ya be cheap and buy some!"

"Like Maya bought him?"

"Who? Oak?"

_"My ass she did."_

"No, Ketchum."

_"Ash would never…"_

The nurses laughed. "Ok, Jeff. She's set. Let's get our asses' outta here before they incriminate us too. These kids are in a lot of deep shit."

The nurses gathered their belongings and placed them on the gurney before leaving the room and locking it from the outside. Gary waited until the squeaky gurney could not be heard anymore before carefully opening his eyes. The lights outside the hall turned off and an electric lock sealed the door. They were trapped inside.

Gary took out his cell phone from underneath him and typed a text message for Becca: _"I'm awake. What's going on?"_

He sent the message and sat on the bed as he waited for a response. His legs felt numbed and slightly unresponsive. If his calculations were correct, he had been in bed for at least five days straight. He needed to get up and walk or his entire body would soon become pretty useless for what he feared was coming. He turned to his left and made sure he tuned down the volume of the machine before he pulled out all the cables stuck to his body. He sat on the edge of the bed and allowed the blood to flow back to his legs by letting them dangle. He was happy to see he still had all four limbs and other than some burns and scars he looked fine.

He began massaging his legs with his hands to indicate his muscles it was time to wake up. As he did so, his face looked up to stare at what he could see of Misty's figure. He did not know how severe her injuries had been but the nurses had practically thrown her on the bed and she did not even moan in pain. For all he knew, Misty could be in a serious coma; yet a coma was better than what he thought would happen to her.

_Gary ran to the parking lot of the Gym and saw the yellow tape being placed around the building. Firefighters had begun connecting hoses and the police kept bystanders as far away from danger as possible. The flames that came out from the top of the Gym were as high as ten feet, and the windows and doors were covered by the metal strips. Misty had not disarmed the security after he had left and she was now trapped inside. If Misty died inside it would be his fault. _

_Gary ran to the closest police officer and was told to leave the premises. He showed his Pokemon League Badge and asked what the status of the incident was. The officer nodded before he responded._

_"We are not sure what caused the fired, but there seemed to be four people inside, as well as unknown number of Pokemon trapped. We received a call from the neighbors and not from the inside."_

_"There are 25 Pokemon in the Gym," Gary began, "and Misty Waterflower was still there when I left about an hour ago."_

_"Where did you go?"_

_"My duty was done. I was heading to Indigo Plateau when I saw the firetruck and police heading to the Gym. Why do you say there were four people inside? Misty was the only one there when I left."_

_"We rescued three of them."_

_"Misty's sisters?"_

_"We don't know for certain. There were two women but they died after we took them out, their bodies too burned to identify them by sight. We have an unidentified male heading to the hospital as we speak. He told us there were four people inside."_

_Gary's heart raced. He looked around him and saw the firefighters aiming water to the top of the Gym while others jumped out the windows followed by flames. Others tried to find another way to go inside the Gym and had begun axing their way in. He looked back as he heard the sound of another firetruck arriving, but his eyes were caught by the scene of the two covered bodies of the women the officer had described on the ground. Misty's sisters were scheduled to arrive today and if they had, they were probably dead by now. On the other hand, it could have been that Misty was one of the burned women and was lying on the ground, dead. Gary wanted to throw up._

_"Is there a possibility one of those women is Misty?"_

_The officer shook his head. "We couldn't tell who they were by their faces, but neither of them had a sign of having red hair. If Miss Waterflower is still alive, she must be inside the Gym. We've check every room we could and the only place we've not been able to check is one upstairs. A code is required to enter and the door is made out of metal. Our firefighters haven't been able to last long enough to take it down."_

_"That's the office. We kept important paperwork inside it so we installed an electronic lock. Misty could be in there."_

_"Do you know the code? It could help us save her."_

_"The code alone won't help you."_

_"Why not?"_

_"We need Misty's fingerprint to get in."_

Gary's cell phone lit up and he quickly opened it to read the message: _"Long story. Legal issues. We're heading there to get you both out. See you in 15."_

Gary's head began spinning for the lack of understanding he felt. He did not know what had truly happened after he passed out on the grass. He did not know why the Pokemon League had sent police to the hospital, or why Misty did not wake up after five days of probably being asleep. He did not know what to do or what was really occurring outside, but he knew he could trust Becca and that was all he needed to do now.

Gary grabbed the edge of the seat and placed his feet on the floor. If he had to escape his confinement he needed both legs. He had less than fifteen minutes to get better, grab Misty, and head out. He slowly let go of his bed and shakily began walking towards Misty's bed. He held himself on her bed and seeing her had brought great relief if her current state was not as shocking as it seemed.

"God, Misty…what happened to you?"

Her left eye was shut by what had to be a cruel, strong punch to her face. Her lower lip had signs of inflammation and it was slowly healing the wound that crossed her entire mouth. Her neck showed signs of deep scratching and spots of dead blood within her skin. Her wrists were purple and whatever skin the gown showed was either scratched, burned or bandaged. Whatever had happened to her while she was inside the Gym had not seemed as severe as now.

Gary used his hand to carefully stroke her face as the need to embrace her grew stronger. He did not know if he could hurt her even more with a hug but he was not going to check. His chest began hurting a pain no medicine could cure. "Why does this happen to you?"

Misty did not move an inch. Gary growled. "I'm taking you out of here. I'm not ever leaving you alone again."

Gary looked up and repeated the process of silencing the machines before unhooking Misty from them. He then headed to the door and placed his hand on the knob. The door did not unlock.

"Fuck."

He looked for another key or handle he had to pull or press to unlock the door but it was useless. They were locked inside. Becca could not get them out through the front door.

He walked to Misty and checked she was still breathing and when he reassured himself she was still alive he ran to the window on the other side of the room and examined it. He did not know whether it was his anger, his fear, or his will to get them both out of there that made his legs walk properly again, but he promised them a warm bath when it was all over. He became happy when he realized the window was not locked and was able to open it. He became slightly disappointed when he realized they were on the 15th floor.

"We _are_ fucked."

He looked back and stared at Misty who was still unconscious on her bed, unaware of her fate. He was her only chance to escaping whatever Becca was warning him about. If he let her down, no one else could save her now.

Gary ran back to his cell phone but instead of sending a text message to Becca he decided to make matters faster with a call. He pressed speed-dial three and after two rings he was connected to her.

"Gary, we're almost there. We're parking three blocks away from the hospital to hide our car. We can't let our car out in the open cuz there are police officers on the parking lot of the place."

"B, what's your plan? Fucking door's locked from the outside _and_ the inside. Our only way out is the damned window but we're on the fifteenth floor and Misty's still knocked out."

"Dude, we need to get you out somehow. We know where you're 'cause we've visited you. We got your pokeball belts here with us. The League's looking for'em to confiscate your Pokemon from you, but we took'em on day one."

"Thanks, girl. I love you with all my heart."

"Don't thank me yet. We've got clothes here for ya to change. You can't be walking around with your asses out in the open. The League's waiting for you to wake up to arrest you."

"Arrest me?"

"You both, and soon us too to help outlaws escape."

"I won't say you helped us and Misty's unavailable right now so…"

"We parked. We'll go behind the hospital and you'll be able to see us through the window in about five. Don't call me or you will blow it."

"Ok, bye."

Gary hung up and looked around the room he did not forget anything Becca might have left behind. There were no clothes in the room and nothing that belonged to either of them. He opened the curtain and the window completely to allow light from the moon bright up the room a little before grabbing a chair and placing it under the doorknob. He did not know how the electric lock was programmed but he hoped that if they were caught escaping the chair could buy them some time. He grabbed Misty's medical papers from the clipboard as well as his and kept them in his hand. He did not know anything about medicine but Becca's boyfriend did. If something was wrong with them he would want to know before carelessly hiding Misty in his garage.

"_If they get me I don't care. They aren't getting her."_

Gary stared at his phone and realized he had one more phone call to make. Becca and her boyfriend could only get them out of the city, but he was not going to let them get in more trouble for them. Misty needed a place to stay while she recovered and could then figure out what exactly was happening before they could plan their come back. He had no money with him and they could not get far away without it. He had to turn to the one person that would save him from situations like this. He grabbed his phone and press speed-dial two.

"Gary! Thank God! How are you? Stay away from here! The League is guarding the mansion."

Gary smiled. It was nice to hear from the old man again.

"Gramps, chill! I'm still in the hospital with Misty. Bryan and Becca are getting us out of here tonight."

"How's Misty? How're you getting out of there? The hospital is being guarded too."

"Misty is…_alive_. I can't tell you how but we're getting out of here. Don't worry about us, ok? I just wanted to tell you we're alright and…"

"And?"

"I need some money, and a favor from you."

"Of course."

While Gary and Professor Oak discussed the travel arrangements, Becca and Bryan arrived to the scene. Police officers were surrounding the entire building, including the back section of the lot where they had chosen to use for their plan. The intruders hid behind a tree.

"How the hell are we getting pass security? There's 6 of them!"

"Chill, babe. I was expecting this. Call Gary and tell him to look down and tell you how many dogs he sees."

"What?"

"Officers, how many he sees from up there. I'm gonna take care of the ones we see."

"How?"

"Easy, leave it to me. You call Gary ok? I'll be right back."

"But Bryan…"

"Do it!"

Becca nodded and began calling Gary as she saw her boyfriend crawl away from her. He reached to his pokeball belt and grabbed a pokeball. He slowly released the Pokemon inside it and asked it to be quiet.

"Vileplume, see those people over there?"

Vileplume nodded. "I need you to knock out them for me. Use sleep powder but only aiming at them, ok?"

Vileplume nodded again and did as told. In a matter of seconds every single guard in front of them was completely asleep. "Great job, Vileplume. Return."

Becca crawled to him and showed him Gary's belt. "Gary has a plan to get them out of there using that window."

"Alright, we need to hurry up, though. They will be asleep for at most ten minutes. We need to work fast. What's his plan?"

"Where's the bag with their clothes?"

"Here," Bryan said as he pulled out a black bag from his backpack.

"Great."

Becca turned Gary's belt so that the buckle was on her hand and then counted four pokeballs. She grabbed the fourth one and released the Pokemon caught inside it. After a red flash Alakazam was out. "Alakazam, use your telekinetic powers to send this bag to Gary. He is up there, you see him?" Becca pointed up to the window where Gary waved his hands to catch Alakazam's attention. Alakazam nodded and quickly used his powers to lift the bag and deliver it to Gary.

Gary grabbed the bag and tore it apart and began separating his clothes from her clothes. He took a couple of minutes to dress up in blue jeans, black and orange snickers, a white t-shirt and a light orange sweater. He rolled the medical reports and placed them on his back pocket and ran his fingers through his hair to give him his spiked look. He then picked up the bag and Misty's clothes from the floor before heading to her. He did not know how, but he was going to dress up Misty from panties to blouse.

Outside, Becca, Bryan and Alakazam waited patiently as Gary finished his task. One of the officers moved and the trio froze in place. Bryan slowly reached to his belt again and repeated the task with Vileplume. They could not wait much longer. An officer from the front could arrive to the back lot any minute and catch them. Time was running out. "Where are we hiding them after this?" Bryan asked.

"We're not hiding them. Gary wants us to take them to Bill's house. A car's waiting for them there."

"Where are they planning to go?"

"He didn't want to tell me. He doesn't want us to know in case we get interrogated."

"But we won't be able to help them if they need us!"

"I know, I told him. He said he's not putting us in more danger than he already is. If they need us, they'll call us."

Bryan sighed. "I hope he knows what he's doing. If they are caught…"

"Alakazam!"

Bryan and Becca turned to Alakazam who was pointing at the window. Gary was standing behind it with Misty in his arms. "S'bout time you jerk! Alakazam, use your telekinetic powers again to bring them both down."

Alakazam nodded and concentrated. Moving objects was an easy task but having to move his master and a hurt human at the same time was not going to be an easy task. Alakazam's eyes lit as his aura began increasing to begin his job.

Gary felt pressure placed on every inch of his body as it was surrounded and lifted from the floor and slowly were the both of them brought out from the room by Alakazam's powers. Becca and Bryan watched as a trembling and quickly tiring Alakazam had Gary and Misty floating halfway to their destination. Alakazam was on his knees now.

"They aren't gonna make it. This is too much for Alakazam!"

"He needs help or they are gonna fall 60 feet down to their death."

"Bryan, use Golduck."

"Right."

Bryan reached to his belt again and released Golduck. "Golduck, help Alakazam bring Gary and Misty down here to us, now!"

Golduck gave Bryan a thumbs-up before opening his arms and using his own telekinetic powers to aid Alakazam. In a matter of seconds, Gary and Misty safely touched the ground. Alakazam's body fell on the grass, face first. "Alakazam!"

Gary laid Misty on the ground before running to his tired Pokemon. He thanked him before checking up on him and sent him back to his pokeball. He then thanked Golduck before Bryan sent him back to his pokeball as well. Becca ran to Gary and gave him a big hug. "You idiot, I thought you'd die! Next time just do it with Misty and run away together, ok?"

Gary gave her a weak smile. "I'll try."

Bryan sat next to Misty and took out his cell phone to light up her face. He sighed at the realization her face had not changed one bit. "Whatever you're planning to do, we need to do it fast, man. Misty looks bad."

"Ok. Please take us to Bill's. He's waiting for us."

Bryan nodded as he saw Gary reaching over to Misty to carry her. Bryan stopped him and carried her himself. "You need your energy for when we ain't there with you. I'll take her."

"Thanks, man."

Bryan carried Misty and they all sneaked out of the parking lot and headed to their car through dark alleys and hidden streets. Ten minutes later they were inside the car and heading to Bill's house.

Becca handed Gary both belts and he placed both of them around his waist. Bryan was driving, Becca was on the passenger's seat, and Gary was using his lap as a pillow for Misty who was lying on the back seat with him. They all remained quiet until they reached a stop light and Gary pulled out the medical records from his back pocket and handed them to Becca. "Can you tell me how we are, Bryan? I need to know how delicate she is before I take her with me."

Bryan nodded and asked Becca to read the papers to him. They both exchanged words until Bryan told Gary he was alright and could run a marathon in a couple of days. Becca then began reading Misty's medical profile and after a few questions from Bryan he asked her to stop reading.

"Look, Gary. I need you to listen to me and do everything I tell you to do or she _will_ die."

Gary held Misty even closer to him as he nodded and began listening to what Bryan had to say. "I don't know where you're taking her but you need to make sure there is available medical attention just in case she needs it. She's got a lot of burns that need cleansing every couple of days, and her lungs are not working at full capacity yet. Her eye is fine but she obviously doesn't have full function of her sight yet. She has been unconscious for five days so she might not remember shit of what happened when she wakes up and telling her everything that happened right away might upset her heart. Upsetting her heart will upset her breathing and give her an attack. Every night until she wakes up you need to massage her arms and legs so they are not completely useless when she wakes up. Be careful with the bruises so until they are all gone concentrate on her thighs and feet as well as her hands and upper arms."

"Will…will she wake up soon?"

"I'm not sure, but when she does let her speak first."

"Why?"

"She hit her head…hard. She might not remember you."

Gary took a deep breath. This was too much to risk. If he did not watch over her every second until she got completely better, she could end up dead in his arms. "I know…I know you guys are risking your asses here but, would it be better for her if I leave her here?"

Becca looked at Bryan and then at Gary. Bryan could not tell him the news, so he allowed Becca to break it to him. "Gary, you can't stay, neither of you can. The Pokemon League is accusing Misty of negligence, reckless endangerment, animal cruelty and homicide, as well as fraud. They are willing to protect you, but only if…"

"Only if what?"

Becca sighed. "Only if you testify against her. You were her supervisor and you never got the chance to turn in you report. They need your report as evidence to sustain the claims that she was mentally unstable and purposely caused the fire."

"And if I don't testify against her…?"

"They'll prosecute you the same way as her. The League arranged the trial already. She will get put in a mental institution and you will get life in jail without parole."

"But, there is no proof that…"

"It is all arranged; they just needed you two to wake up to arrest you."

"How…how do you know all this?"

"Ash told us."

"You are gonna believe him?"

"We do, and you should too. Ash was the one who rented this car for us so we didn't have to use our real cars and get caught. He wants you both to be safe, even it means not seeing you guys ever again."

"How can you trust him? He…"

"He has no way out, but that doesn't mean he stopped caring for her."

Gary huffed.

"If you don't want to believe him that is fine, but believe us," Bryan said "As soon as they realize you are gone the League will officially press charges, and you will be top of the most-wanted list. Get out and go as far away as you can now before they find out. If you need anything, anything at all, you know where to find us, ok?"

"Ok."

Bryan slowed down the car and saw Bill sitting on his porch. He started the rented car in front of them, and then opened the front doors. Bryan turned off the car and both him and Becca steeped out to help Gary carry Misty to the passenger's seat of their new runaway vehicle.

"Good Lord!" Bill said, "She hasn't recovered one bit?"

"No, but she needs to get outta here anyway. Do you have a first aid kit Gary can use while they are on the road?" Bryan asked.

"Yeah, is back inside. I'll go get it now."

Becca made sure Misty was securely strapped before locking and closing her door. Bill came out of his house and gave Gary the first aid kit and an envelope while Bryan gave Misty a final quick check-up.

"Gary, your grandfather transferred this money here for you. He said it should cover you both for a few months and that if you needed more you can contact me and I will contact him. He knows his lines will be tapped as soon as the League knows you have runaway and if you call him they will track you down. Is there anything else I can do for you, son?"

"No, Bill. Thanks."

Bill smiled at Gary before giving him a huge hug and seeing him get on the car. Gary made sure every door was locked and checked that Misty was securely fastened one last time before turning on the headlights and reversing his way out of Bill's place. Bill, Becca and Bryan watched him wave goodbye before disappearing on the highway.

"I hope those two make it. The League is not what it used to be." Bill said as he saw Bryan approaching them.

Becca nodded as she turned to face her boyfriend with a sad face. "Why didn't you tell him Misty's sisters have been house-arrested in Indigo Plateau?"

"They'll be fine. Ash will watch over them. 'Sides, they have better things to worry about."

Becca nodded as she opened Misty's profile once again and read it, tears forming in her eyes. "I can't believe someone would do this to her. She would never hurt anyone. I know neither of them would."

"Bryan, is Misty gonna make it?"

Bryan shrugged. "Don't know, Bill. It's all up to Gary now. Her life depends on him."

"Gary loves Misty. He won't let anything happen to her."

"But Gary is just one man, B. In a few hours the world will be looking for all three of them."

"True. Wait? What three? Is Gary recruiting someone else to help him out? Did he tell you something, Bryan?"

"No."

"Then why did you say the three of them?"

"There was something else I didn't tell them."

"What?"

Bryan grabbed Misty's medical profile from Becca before folding it by the middle and concentrating on the bottom part of it. He pointed at a box and showed it to Becca and Bill. Becca covered her mouth with her hand and Bill hung his head.

"Misty was raped," Bryan said. "She could be pregnant."


	2. In a Pokemon World

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 2: In a Pokémon World**

More than two days had passed since Becca, Bryan and Bill had helped Gary and Misty escape from the hospital. The League had learned about their disappearance later on that same night they ran away and, like Becca had said, the League had officially pressed charges against the former residents of the Cerulean Gym. Gary had asked Bryan and Becca not to contact him for any reason. The League had placed a price to their heads, and announcements were made in every media source possible. Even though these constant reminders to the general population made him uneasy about their hiding safety, they had also proved to be useful tools when it came to deciding which roads to take. All major routes were being closely patrolled and monitored, so leaving Cerulean via normal roads was practically impossible.

Gary had stopped a few times for gas before finally leaving Cerulean City. With every full stop he made he had also made sure Misty's condition was still stable, and had cared to her wounds just like Bryan had indicated. While on his last pit stop –when he realized their faces where in the news, he had grabbed a map to decide where to go. He had very few options that did not include risking getting caught, or involving more people than he already had. He knew going west was not an option because that would send them closer to Indigo Plateau, and heading north sent them to the nothingness of the sea. Going to Celadon would only incriminate Becca and Bryan even more, and going east meant heading to Rock Tunnel, a.k.a. _The Middle of Fucking Nowhere, Kanto_.

He could not stay too far away from civilization either in case Misty required medical attention, but he could not be in the middle of the city unless it was absolutely necessary and unavoidable to do. His other option was taking an alternate route and head for Lavender Town, but the place was so small and retro that they would stand out like sore thumbs. His only option was to take an alternative road to Route 5, and head for the biggest city in Kanto: Saffron City.

Gary's goal was to leave Kanto as soon as possible, and go to Johto, Hoenn, or the Orange Islands. He did not know how many strings the League could pull outside Kanto, but he had no other option than to leave the region as soon as possible. The farther away they were from the League, the more time he had to fix all these misunderstandings and clean their names, especially _hers_. He could not let them get her, or get him until he had made sure she was in some place safe, and that she would remain safe even if he was not around her.

Gary took another sip of his coffee as he stopped at a red light. Never in his life had he ever hated red lights more than now. He felt that every time they stopped or slowed down, even for just a second, they would be seen. His stomach churned in nervousness, and had prevented him from getting hungry at all. He had hoped Misty would wake up so he could feed her, as he had no other way of doing so, but he was also kind of glad that she had not awaken yet. He did not know how she would react, and being unconscious was probably the best option until they were far away from home.

The light finally turned green and Gary pressed on the gas pedal.

It seemed that the weather was upset at their situation too. A light storm had taken over the region and it had not stopped raining since they left Bill's place. Even though the rain made it difficult to get away, it also made it difficult to be found. From the very few things that Gary could be grateful for tonight, the rain was one he would welcome with open arms.

Crossing the entire city was difficult to do. Saffron had grown exponentially in the last ten years, mostly because of the presence of Silph Co. Other major private Pokémon research companies had moved to this city, or had established a branch downtown Saffron in an effort to merge with Silph Co. Earning Sabrina's badge had been difficult enough in the past, but with the new regulations created by the League, the Marsh badge was almost impossible to obtain. For this reason, the Pokémon Center of Saffron had been expanded and was now as big as the one in Indigo Plateau in order to host all the incoming trainers. Even though the turnout of residents of the Center was renewed every month, the Center was never filled to less than 95 of its total capacity. The city sported two major airports on the north and south sides, and construction of an underground bullet train to connect Saffron with Celadon, Vermillion, and even _ol'_ small Pewter City had begun.

More visitors meant more commerce, and the shopping center in Celadon was put to shame when a new shopping center was opened in Saffron. The casinos were reopened and expanded, and the routes that led to and from Saffron had to be enlarged and repaved. Saffron had grown to be a city of great tourism, flourishing businesses, affluent residents, and the home of the League's most challenging Gym to defeat. Saffron could protect them for a while; finding a needle in a haystack was probably easier than finding a parking space in Saffron, especially at the end of a rainy day.

As Gary avoided major roads and tollways, the scenery around him switched from strip malls, to schools, to businesses, to homes. He had not been in Saffron in years, and coming back after his last visit to present his findings on pre-evolutions of Pokémon at a the annual Silph Co. convention seemed only like a dream that had occurred hundreds of years ago.

As Gary stopped at another red light, he groaned and turned on the radio.

This light was going to last much longer since eight traffic lights surrounded them. He had reached, without knowing, a major intersection.

Gary tapped his fingers against the steering wheel and kept a close eye to the cars around him. His heart began beating faster at the thought of seeing a police car anywhere near them. Even though the car was not registered under their name, and the warnings people had been receiving did not mention the vehicle they were using to escape, his guilt and knowledge that what he was doing was risky got the best of his sanity. The windows of the car were tinted, and the city was as dark as it could get with the surrounding storm, but he felt that they could be hidden under a freaking box and still be seen.

The commercials in the radio announced the long awaited Pokémon League Tournament at Indigo Plateau. Gary remembered what the two nurses back at the hospital had said it would take place this weekend, and that Maya had separated the Pokémon Master and Pokémon League President positions, allowing someone else to become the new Pokémon Master of Kanto. The tournament had already begun a few hours ago, and it would go on for the entire week until the new Pokémon Master was found.

Gary had been away from the trainer life for a long time now, but he knew Ash would be the next Pokémon Master. He had trained even before he could talk and had given up a normal kid's life to achieve this dream. There was nothing that would stop Ash now from finally being what he always wanted to be. Truth was that Gary felt as passionate as Ash did about becoming the best of the best in the world, but his current situation made him wonder how truly important this was to him. Reality bit and training and researching was not _real_ life. Being beat up, fired, and running away from the law, that _was_ real life.

Gary changed the station until he found one where the tournament was being aired live.

_"Welcome faithful listeners! This is V-Zach and we are transmitting from the one and only Indigo Plateau! The League has begun its annual tournament, and I have to say we are very impressed. If you can, come on down and join us! This is going to be great!"_

Gary rolled his eyes and scoffed at the host. What was so impressive about a bunch of teenagers throwing Pokémon at each other while trying to become another bitch for Maya while everyone _knew_ Ash was going to win anyway was beyond his comprehension. Bill had said that the League was not what it used to be, and he was absolutely right. Even though the credibility and the bar had been raised, the _bullshit _had been raised along with it. The League now seemed like a political organization rather than association of Pokémon enthusiasts.

_"We are now joined by the most known Pokémon trainer of the moment: Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Hello Ash, ready to battle?"_

_"I'm kinda nervous, Zach, haven't been surrounded by so many great trainers in a while. This can be quite a challenge, if you ask me."_

The radio host laughed as Gary scoffed again._ "Rumors are that it'll be a challenge for anyone battling __**you**__. Seems the pressure's on them and not on ya, Ash."_

_"I didn't know those were the rumors, but if that's what's going 'round, then I have a reputation to keep, for the League."_

Gary growled as he turned off the stereo.

Gary sighed as he turned his face to his right to stare at a still soundly asleep Misty. There she was, utterly unaware of the world around her. Ash was at the League, possibly walking around hand-in-hand with a very more-than-two-month pregnant Dawn, while he and Misty drove away from everyone and everything they once held dear. The more he stared at her, the more it dawned on him what he had done. He had ran away from a hospital, taking a very injured Gym leader against her will, he was running away from the law, possibility fleeing the country, and had used his Pokémon to take out police officers, not to mention lying to and hiding from the Pokémon League.

_"And all for what?"_

The second he asked himself this question he imagined his heart grow a tiny hand and raised it, jumping up and down like the little school boy that knows the correct answer to the most difficult question his teacher has ever asked.

_"For her."_

Gary lowered his head. He knew it had _all_ been for her, all for her, for the longest time. He knew that every step he had taken and every decision he had made since their talk on Pallet Town's most famous hill the night she became Ash's girlfriend, had unconsciously led him to her. He knew it in his heart the moment he realized he loved her that he would do anything for her. Yet, back then he did not understand how serious he was when he promised himself he would do anything in his hands to protect her, and make her happy.

Even if making her happy meant leaving her, like he had done when she became Ash's girl. Three years ago, when that conversation between Misty and him took place, all he could think about was how Ash had everything, and how he had everything _else_. What were the odds of him and Misty meeting in that hill when they were both thinking about making a decision that would change their lives? Was that a sign that the best option for them was to choose each other? Neither of them saw it like that, or at least they did not say they did, but it seemed so obvious to him right now. Gary closed his eyes and a allowed his mind to remember his favorite moment of that night once again.

_Misty faced him and was forced to look away when he did not stop staring intensively at her eyes. "Ash is so lucky. He doesn't know what he has. What I have is good for now…but what he has is great for a better and longer-lasting cause."_

_"Gary…"_

_"If you don't say yes to him, you'd have to say yes to me."_

_"Gary…are you ok?"_

_"Yeah, dead serious. Who do you prefer? The hyperactive kid or the desperate playboy?"_

_Misty smirked. "The playboy seems sweet, but the hyperactive kid is who I want."_

_Gary nodded and then stared at the sky before speaking again. "Problem fixed, right?"_

_"And yours?"_

_Gary did not say anything for a second before facing her, pulling her face to him and kissing her. Once the kiss was over, she stared at him with a blank look and he intensively stared at her eyes again. "It's fixed for now."_

He chuckled at the idea of fixing both of their lives with a kiss right now; though he knew kissing Maya would only make matters worse. _"Add sexual assault to my charges, please."_

He looked up at the still red light and sighed. He then stared at his pokeball belt and remembered his and her Pokémon needed care too. They had helped him save Misty from the fire, and then they had helped them escape the hospital. Alakazam was very tired and needed to spend a couple of hours in a Pokémon Center. Gyrados and Dragonite were injured in the fire and needed medical attention as soon as possible. Gary sighed again. With all the commotion of running away he had forgotten to treat the Pokémon that had helped them get where they were now.

The light finally turned green and Gary began driving again. He had to get the Pokémon to a center. He hated the idea of stopping at a crowded place, surrounded by people that would easily recognize him, but he had to make sure the Pokémon were safe. Not only did he know he would need their assistance again, but his Pokémon trainer honor nagged him to take the injured Pokémon to nurse Joy.

Gary Oak was faced with yet another predicament: Getting to the Pokémon Center without being recognized. He played with several ideas in his mind, trying to think of the best way to accomplish this. He could not leave Misty alone in the car, but he could not take her inside with him either. There was no drive-thru in the center, and with the current weather the building would be as crowded as ever before. He remembered his days as a trainer and how rain always made him stop at a center for the night. He hated sheltering at a Pokémon Center when it rained because he would encounter many trainers who would complain about sleeping on the floor, and tried to end their boredom with Pokémon battles even though they were not allowed inside Pokémon Centers.

Boredom was not a good reason to battle Pokémon.

Gary began driving slower as the rain become pouring down faster and harder. The always busy streets of Saffron were quickly deserted of pedestrians. The rain was quickly becoming more of a hazard than an inconvenience. The wind began picking up.

Regardless of how advanced a city would be there was one thing no one could fight against: Mother Nature. In spite of the best intentions and money spent on a highly efficient sewage system, the sidewalks were now disappearing under a sea of dark water, the traffic lights had began failing, and the streets were slowly becoming a raging river of water that had nowhere to run. Gary began to get worried. If water continued to rise as it had so far, his car would soon turn off, victim of the weather. He could not afford to be stranded in Saffron. He had to get away from where he was but needed to go downtown.

Suddenly, going to a Pokémon Center had become more of a necessity than a possible detour.

Gary continued to drive and followed the trucks near him as close as he could. He allowed the trucks to disperse the water in front of him, giving him a better chance to turn to another street to head to the center. He knew the Gym was downtown, and he hoped the Center was still close to it as well.

Gary turned right onto the main street that went through Saffron from north to south. The more he drove, the more he hoped for an end to the flooding path, but the less he believed it would end. The rain was giving Saffron no mercy at all. The wind was beginning to shake the signs and hanging traffic lights, as well as increasing the rage of the rising water.

Gary turned on the car stereo again and switched it to A.M. He had to find the emergency station and learn the extent of the damage this storm was creating. He feared he would have to stop somewhere for the night. Thunder and lightning began their show by illuminating the now completely dark skies of Saffron.

_"This is the emergency broadcast. A severe thunderstorm is heading towards Saffron. Please seek shelter immediately on higher grounds. Flash flood up to two feet is expected in the lower areas. Wind speed is 35 to 40 miles per hour, with gusts of hurricane force recorded in some areas. Stay away from windows and doors. Large hail has been reported. This is not a test; seek shelter immediately."_

Gary cursed under his breath as his eyes searched for the center, and the emergency broadcast beeping kept echoing in the car. He slowed down and grabbed the map that was inside the cup holder, frantically looking for the section of Saffron. He switched his eyes from the map to the street, hoping to find a sign of direction to the Pokémon Center in either one. The more he drove, the fewer cars surrounded him. Soon they would be the only car in the street in the middle of a severe thunderstorm, risking their lives for not stopping at all.

Gary finally found their location on the map, and realized they were three blocks away from the center. He tried to place the map back in the cup holder but something was preventing him from doing so. He took a quick look down and saw that the object that was interfering with the easy task was Misty's hand.

Gary held his breath. _"Is she awake?"_

He looked up to her face and saw she was still asleep. He figured with all the movement of the car her hand had slipped to the middle of the car. He held her wrist to place it back on her lap. He continued to drive as the feeling of a never-ending path engulfed him. Driving three blocks had never been so dreary, and the more he pressed on the gas pedal, the more the lights inside the car blinked, telling him the car's battery was slowly dying.

Gary could hear the pressure the water was placing on his doors. The splashing of the water on the car made him uneasy as he knew that in any moment, the water would inevitable lift the car and smash it against a random building. He had seen many rescues of this type on television and knew what to expect in this situation. He just never thought it would ever happen to him.

The windshield wipers had become obsolete under the strength of the storm. He could hardly see what was happening outside, and though he doubted anyone else would be in the streets, he felt nervous about the lowered visibility. He tried lowering the window and sticking his head out but the visibility was worse than with no wipers at all. _"Dammit."_

As much as hated asking for help in their current situation, he knew he had no other option. The Pokémon needed help, the car was about to die on them, and Misty needed her check-up. He reluctantly picked up his cellphone and sent a text message to an old friend in town. An immediate reply was received by his cellphone in the form of a call. Gary answered his phone, ignoring the risk he was taking by doing so. "Long time no see, cutie."

"Baby, I need a huge favor."

"It must be! I haven't heard from you in ages."

"I've been busy."

"Yeah, getting your name on the _Most Wanted_ list. Congrats!"

Gary sighed. His fame was spreading faster than the storm.

"Look, turn me in later; I need you to help me."

The woman on the other end of the line laughed.

"As if! I don't believe that shit the League is saying 'bout you, honey. What do you need?"

Gary smiled. He knew he was risking his friend's life as he had already risked Becca, Bryan and Bill's, but he had no other option. Their safety was at stake.

"The fucking storm is turning off my car, and my Pokémon need attention, and Misty needs attention to because I haven't cared to her wounds since this morning and…"

"Wait! What? Misty's _wounds_? What wounds? What storm? _Where_ are you?"

"Downtown Saffron."

"_Mother_…" the girl censored herself. "What the hell is wrong with you? This is like the worst storm in ever! Why the fuck haven't you stopped?"

"I can't just _stop_ in the middle of the street. The water is rising, and I need to take the Pokémon to a center. They were injured in the fire and I haven't been able to cure them with, you know, running away from the law and all."

"Gary, you _need_ to stop somewhere. How long have you been driving? Come here; you can chill here for the night."

"Two days, but that's not important. The Pokémon need to see Joy."

"I have some potions here at home. We can cure them here, and take a look at Misty…"

"No, the car won't make it, and Misty is still unconscious. My closest bet is the Pokémon Center. I'm a block away from it now."

"But Gary…"

"Are you gonna help me or not?"

The woman on the other line sighed. "Yes, tell me what to do."

Gary sighed. "Thank you, Jen."

"No problem."

Gary asked Jen to call the Pokémon Center and beg Joy to allow them to go inside through the back door without calling the cops. He knew Jen and Joy of Saffron were close friends, and she was his only chance to help themselves without being locked up. Gary arrived to the front of the Pokémon Center and as soon as he turned off the car he sent a text message to Jen again saying "_I'm at the front of the center,"_ to which she replied _"One sec."_

Gary grabbed both Pokémon belts and placed them around his waist, shivering at the memories it brought to him. He turned around and grabbed a backpack where he carried the first aid kit. He then patted himself on his pants to make sure he still had the money his grandfather had given him. He did not know if he would have to bribe anyone to keep quiet about their whereabouts, but he was not taking the chance of being caught off-guard. From out here he could see the center packed with trainers, and several Chanseys running around with blankets and pillows all around the place. He also saw Nurse Joy walking around stopping stubborn trainers who wanted to go outside to battle in the rain.

"Stupid ass trainers…"

Gary stopped his cursing when his cell phone began ringing. He flipped open his phone, knowing who the caller was. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Talk to me."

"I arranged something. I'm heading your way already. I'll meet you behind the center."

"I can't get out of the car, Jen! It's raining and Misty is asleep."

"Shit, I _know_ it's raining, I'm _running_ there!"

"Yeah, _you_ can run. Misty can't."

"The League is not looking for you for being stupid, Gary. Drive to the back street and you'll see a parking lot. It's electronically gated. The code is 2156. Wait for me out there, I'll be there in five."

"What about the center?"

"That's the center's personnel parking lot. Joy said to park there to go in through the back door."

Gary smiled. "Ok. Thanks."

"No problem."

Gary hung up his phone and rested it against his forehead. Now that he had taken a moment to stop, his body began sinking into the glory of rest. He had not given it a good break since he was assigned to Misty's Gym, and having two seconds of stillness made it crave a long nap. His mind was tired of thinking, his body was tired of running, and his heart was tired of aching. His entire system warned him of a soon coming shut down that would either leave him unconscious for days, or simply drop him dead if he did not get a break any time soon.

He cracked his knuckles before attempting to start the car. Thankfully, after the third try it did, and he slowly drove around the center to head to the back parking lot, just as Jen had instructed. He followed all of the directions and in a manner of minutes he had turned off the car and was waiting for Jen to appear.

Gary attentively stared at Misty one last time before he pulled the handle below his seat to push it back and rest. As he closed his eyes, the memories that he had avoided in the hospital where coming back to him again.

_The officer shook his head. "We couldn't tell who they were by their faces, but neither of them had a sign of having red hair. If Miss Waterflower is still alive, she must be inside the Gym. We've check every room we could and the only place we've not been able to check is one upstairs. A code is required to enter and the door is made out of metal. Our firefighters haven't been able to last long enough to take it down."_

_"That's the office. We kept important paperwork inside it so we installed an electronic lock. Misty could be in there."_

_"Do you know the code? It could help us save her."_

_"The code alone won't help you."_

_"Why not?"_

_"We need Misty's fingerprint to get in."_

_"How did you ever get in?"_

_"She let me in."_

_The officer sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration. Gary looked at the raging fire and then at the officer. "I'm going in."_

_"Are you crazy? I can't let you in, kid."_

_"You have no option. She'll die if we don't do something."_

_"And you'll die along with her if I let you in."_

"Might as well…"_ Gary thought._

_Gary reached over his Pokémon belt. If Misty was inside the Gym still, the office was the only room she could be in. This was the most secure room in the entire building and knowing her, if she was not able to leave on time, she was hiding there. The room was safe with the door, but fire could get in from the ceiling or floors. The amount of paper in the room was ridiculous, and if nothing was done she would die a quick but painful death. _

_Another officer joined them as Gary plotted a way to running inside. He did not doubt the expertise of the firefighters, but with two dead women and a hurt man on his way to the hospital, he could not help to feel he could not rely on them to save Misty's life. "Sir, you have to let me in there. I can use my Pokémon to get her out."_

_"I already said no! You want to endanger yourself and your Pokémon? What kind of trainer are you?"_

_"You want to let the only opportunity to save her life pass by. What kind of officer are you?"_

_Both men stared at each other, and the second officer stared at both of them. He then cleared his throat to catch their attention and after he did, he pulled out a Pokémon belt with six pokeballs on it. "We found this in one of the halls."_

_Gary snatched the belt from the officer who was ready to snap back at Gary but his colleague stopped him. He shook his head, understanding that Gary's attitude came from his need to save his friend and signaled his partner to let it go. Gary extended the belt in his hands and looked for something only he knew. He sighed as he pointed to the middle of the belt for the two officers to see._

_Misty's name was on the belt._

_"She's still inside. She would never leave her belt behind. Something must have happened to her."_

_"She must be in that room, then."_

_Gary's hand stroked the pokeballs lightly several times until he grabbed one, turned around, and tossed it to call out the Pokémon in it._

_After the red light that surrounded all incoming Pokémon ended, an injured Psyduck appeared. Gary ran to the Pokémon and helped him sit on the ground. Psyduck's body was bruised and scratched, and his big eyes were red from crying. Gary feared the worst._

_"Psyduck, what happened to you?"_

_Psyduck sniffed and held his head._

_"Were you helping Misty?"_

_Psyduck slightly nodded._

_Gary patted the poor Pokémon as he prepared himself to ask a question he was afraid of asking._

_"Where is Misty?"_

_The Pokémon sniffed again and faced the Gym before he extended his tiny arm and pointed to the top part of the building. _

_The three men followed the ending path of his little hand and realized where Misty was._

_"She is still in the office. I'm going in whether you let me or not."_

_Gary recalled Psyduck and replaced the pokeball on the Pokémon belt before placing it around his waist. He took one step towards the Gym, waiting for either of the officers to stop him, but when he saw they didn't move an inch, he sped up and disappeared inside the Gym._

Gary's reminiscing was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. "Where are you?"

"I'm inside the center and heading back there. What are you driving?"

"Black car, parked right in front of the back door. Is Nurse Joy ok about this?"

"Let's just say I owe her many days of scrubbing the center's floors."

Gary chuckled. That was better than nothing for him. Gary saw the back door being opened and Jen exiting it with an umbrella in her hands. He closed his cell phone before putting his backpack on him and exiting the car. "Where is she?"

"On the other side, bring that umbrella. I'm gonna carry her inside."

"Ok."

Jen ran to the passenger's side of the car as Gary opened the door and used his own body to cover Misty's. He grabbed the blanket he had on the back and drop it on her upper body to cover her face from the rain. Jen informed Gary that the bad side of the storm had not reached them yet, and that power outages were expected in a few more hours.

"We won't be here for long, anyway. We'll leave before it gets here."

Jen sighed at her friend's stubbornness as he carried the covered Misty in his arms. Jen pushed the car door to close it and carefully walked next to Gary as she tried her best to keep the umbrella still. The wind kept pushing the umbrella up and the couple back, but in a matter of seconds they were inside the staff's lounge.

The lounge at the center was pretty much a studio apartment. On the right side of the back door there were cabinets that surrounded a small kitchen. A few steps away from the kitchen there was a dinning table with four chairs, followed by a living room. There were several couches and a cushioned bench in the room, as well as other cabinets, a television, a telephone and a computer. The lounge gave out a very cozy and homey vibe that made the three visitors feel very welcome.

Jen closed the door as Gary stood at the entrance of the lounge holding Misty closely to him. Jen closed the umbrella and dropped it on the corner before crossing the room and opening a cabinet to take out a pair of towels. She opened one and laid it on the cushioned bench and threw the other one on her shoulder. She then grabbed one of the pillows and placed it on one of the ends of the bench.

"Lay her here. We'll dry her up and check on her. Joy will come here any minute to take your Pokémon. She has to use the old machines, though. Otherwise, your Pokémon will be found by the League by the record of the machine."

Gary nodded and hit himself mentally for not realizing that before. He walked to the bench and carefully laid Misty on it, making sure her head rested on the pillow Jen had placed. As soon as he was confident she was not going to fall from it, he slowly removed the blanket from her face. He could not miss the gasp that came from Jen when she saw Misty, as she was standing right behind him.

"Oh, my god! What happened to her?"

Gary's fists trembled as the feeling of guilt invaded his body again. He would never forgive himself for leaving her. If he had stayed like she asked him to, she would not be in this condition.

"I don't know. I just saved her from the fire, and then woke up in the hospital bed. She was unconscious when I took her out of the Gym. She hasn't woken up since."

Jen placed her hand on Gary's shoulder and squeezed it lightly. She could only imagine what she must have gone through to look the way she did. She knew it in her heart that the League was lying about Gary, but seeing Misty like this made her wonder how many more lies were being said by the League.

"The news never said she looked like this."

"The news lies."

Jen handed the towel to Gary who used it to carefully dry Misty's legs. He then used it to dry himself. Jen walked to the television and turned it on, avoiding the news channels and the Pokémon League's channel that was broadcasting the tournament, and went straight to the weather channel.

Gary asked Jen if there was an iron around and she pointed to the same cabinet where she had gotten the towels from. Gary went to it and took it out before plugging it in near a couch. He took out his shoes and socks and laid them on the floor. He then placed the towel on the couch and took off his shirt to iron it back to dryness.

"Gary, you can't leave tonight. The roads are being closed for the storm. The police will find you if you try to escape."

Gary ignored Jen's comments, determined to leave tonight but fearful of the truth she spoke. Neither of them could afford to stay in one place for long, but the weather was not going to allow them to leave anytime soon.

The front door opened, forcing both of them to look up and see Nurse Joy walk in. Ten years had passed since Gary stopped in this center to heal his Pokémon, but the time had not done anything to Joy. She seemed as radiant and full of energy as she had looked when he was still a kid.

"Gary Oak you have some guts coming here."

Gary continued to iron his shirt as Jen approached the obviously upset nurse. "Joy, they had nowhere else to go. I've told you that."

"You are not only risking your lives, but risking my job and the reputation of this Gym. Why haven't you turned yourself in?"

"Joy, please…" Jen began but Gary's voice stopped her.

He laid the iron on the floor and flipped over his shirt to the back side before walking to Joy. The last time he had seen her she was much taller than him. Now, ten years later, he was much, _much_ taller than her. "Look, Joy, I know what you are risking here, but I would have not placed you in this if I had another option."

"You could have done just your job and avoid the whole deal, you know?"

"Yes, but then I would have let Misty down."

"She's a lunatic! Why would you risk your life for her?"

Gary sighed knowing she had the right to slap his face right now as Nurse Joy of Saffron had not always been _Nurse Joy of Saffron_. Back in her early years in the medical field, Nurse Joy had been a human nurse, rather than a Pokémon nurse in the special rescue section of Kanto. Her last case had been a long time when an entire family who had an accident where only the two children survived had knocked her door. She had cared for the children until they had been released from the hospital. Nurse Joy was the only caring adult contact they had until relatives where found.

Staring at him again, Nurse Joy remembered the day when Professor Oak from Pallet Town arrived to Cinnabar Island to pick up his now orphaned grandchildren: May and Gary Oak.

When Gary had stopped in Saffron's Pokémon Center during his early training years, he had been glad to see her working for the League. Nurse Joy had been delighted to learn that the little kids she cared for weeks where alive and well and that had been able to move on with their lives. They had been the reason why she had left the human side of the profession to join the Pokémon side of it. Lonely children walking around the region for days without a home or shelter were far more important to Joy than reckless adults.

"Joy, you don't understand. The League was blackmailing me, and someone wanted to kill her. I couldn't leave her alone; like you couldn't leave me alone when I was a kid."

"Yes, when you were a kid! She is an adult, you both are."

"Joy, please. Look at her." Gary said as he pointed at Misty.

Nurse Joy's upset face soon changed to one of worry when she saw her on the bench. If she did not know that she was still alive, she would swear she was staring at the dead body of Misty Waterflower. "Someone did that to her and nobody cares. I'm gonna find out who it was, and send them to jail."

Nurse Joy reached down to Misty and stared at her wounds. She checked her pulse and sighed in relief when she acknowledged she was ok. She then turned to Gary and nodded.

"I don't know her, but I know you. I will trust you, Gary. But promise me you'll be careful. Every officer is out to get you; even trainers are looking for you."

Gary nodded. "Thank you, Joy."

Gary took out the two belts and handed them to Joy. She took them and told Gary she would return after leaving them in the recovery room to help Misty too. Gary thanked her before she disappeared behind the front door.

Gary returned to the couch where he continued to iron his shirt while Jen changed the channel to the news.

_"The Pokémon League celebrated the start of the tournament with much excitement, despite the dark cloud that has fallen on the League. Misty Waterflower and Gary Oak are still in the loose, and officials have no idea where to find them. However, the League has taken action and has arrested famous League Supervisor of Celadon, Becca Gall as she was captured by the cameras of the Cerulean Hospital as she aided both suspects to escape. Dr. Bryan Gall, Becca's husband, was also arrested under the same charges. Our reporters are following the details of the story very closely."_

Gary growled loudly as he turned off the iron, placed his shirt back on and sat on the couch. He covered his face, cussing himself out and blaming himself for what had happened to Bryan and Becca; so much for not trying to incriminate them even more.

"You are next, Jen. We can't stay long or they'll get you too."

"Well, you can't leave in this weather, and getting caught is a risk I'm willing to take."

"I'm not putting you or Joy in danger."

"Too late, dear. We're in it together now."

Gary rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You are doing a good thing. One day people will realize that."

"I don't care if they don't as long as she is alright in the end."

Jen walked to Gary and sat next to him. She placed her arm around him and gave him a sideway hug. "I know you have a big heart, Gary, but why all this trouble? Is it for her?"

Gary nodded.

"You love her?"

Gary nodded again.

"Does she?"

"I don't know."

"Why would you go through all of this shit for someone who might not love you back?"

"For the same reason you did it for me when were young."

Jen scoffed. "Fuck you, Oak."

"It's been a while."

Joy returned to the lounge and after taking care of Misty's wounds, she convinced Gary to stay for the night. The Pokémon needed some time to recover from the fire and battles. Misty needed to be fed via IV, and Gary needed to rest. Jen stayed up all night watching over them as Gary had stayed up all night looking over her a long, long time ago.


	3. Two of a Kind

**Summary of previous chapter: **After running away from the city and ending up in Saffron, a storm forces Gary and Misty to stay undercover in a Pokémon Center. Gary's old friend Jen helps them sneak in and stay in the nurse's lounge in spite of Nurse Joy's initial disagreement. The duo is forced to spend the night at the Pokémon Center as Gary learns that charges have been placed against the former residents of the Cerulean Gym. Becca and Bryan got arrested by orders of the Pokémon League on charges of aiding outlaws escape.

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 3: Two of a Kind**

_As soon as Gary entered the Gym, his lungs began hurting and his eyes itched like nothing else ever had. The smoke was thick and the fire was raging. The once state-of-the-art Gym they had both worked for so hard for the past six months was becoming nothing more than a cruel memory. The walls had lost their navy blue color and were now dark or ash gray. The furniture was gone, and the stairs had been consumed by the fire. Parts of the roof were collapsing in front of him. Despite the firefighters' best effort, the Gym would not last much longer under the lack of mercy of the fire._

_Gary chose his Blastoise and ordered him to use water gun. He knew the structure of the building would collapse anyway, but he needed more time to find a way to get to Misty. He then called out Misty's Starmie and ordered both Pokémon to continue their water attacks around the area that was closest to the office he had to reach. Gary knew that trying to open the metal door was going to be a waste of time and that attempting to break the roof on the lower room was easier than any other possible task. He ran to the storage room underneath and kicked the door open. The fire was less intense in this room, but his lungs still complained in the form of chest pains and loud coughing. _

_He called out his Alakazam and asked him to use his psychic powers to find Misty's presence on top of them. Alakazam took a brief moment before finally finding her on the corner opposite to the door. Once his job was done and Gary knew the exact location of Misty's body, he called back Alakazam. He reached for Misty's belt and called out Dragonite. He stepped out and roared at the discomfort that was the smoking room._

_"I'm sorry, Dragonite, but I need your help. I need you to make a hole on the roof over there," Gary said as he pointed to the opposite corner where Alakazam had sensed Misty was at._

_Dragonite roared in understanding and began charging a small amount of energy to use hyperbeam. Gary's head began spinning a little as oxygen was becoming scarce. He could still hear Blastoise and Starmie working outside but the fire was slowly winning. Dragonite was almost done charging to attack as he became worried about Gary's condition. He kept trying to take deep breaths filtered by his shirt, but the smoke was too thick to avoid._

_Dragonite watched as Gary got down to his knees and coughed non-stop. The smoke in the room was going nowhere fast; Gary's lungs could not take much more before he intoxicated himself to death. Dragonite finally released his attack and without even waiting to make sure he had succeeded, he flew towards Gary and grabbed one of Misty's pokeballs._

_Dragonite threw the pokeball and after a few seconds, the red flash of light left behind a shiny, huge Gyrados. Gyrados analyzed the situation for a split second before bathing Gary and the room with his own water gun attack. In a matter of seconds Gary was brought back to reality and the room had been emptied of the smoke. _

_Gary looked up and saw the newly arrived Pokémon. Even though he had just been called out, Gyrados showed signs of having encountered a battle. Gary knew he did not have a Gyrados and the closest Misty had to it been that shiny Magikarp she had found in her room. _"When did it evolve?"

_Gary shook his head and remembered what he had gone inside the Gym for. He looked at the corner and realized that Dragonite had succeeded. There was a hole on the roof big enough for him to get there. Gary stared at Dragonite before asking him to give him a lift. Dragonite nodded and threw Gary through the hole. Gyrados stayed behind to help Starmie and Blastoise while Dragonite followed Gary._

_As soon as Gary allowed his senses to become aware of his new environment, he realized that though there was no fire in the room, the temperature was easily above the 130 degrees. The heat from the fire around the room was building up and concentrating in the room. The temperature continued to increase, giving Gary a headache and a slight feeling of dizziness. _

_Gary concentrated on analyzing the status of the room. The sprinklers had gone off, but since there was no fire in the room, the humidity only worsened the heat inside of it. The amounts of paperwork in the room were ruined, and some of the office supplies were slowly melting and becoming part of _other_ supplies._

_The office was thrashed. The furniture was either flipped over or broken, and the floor was covered in paper, trash and…red stains._

_"Blood."_

Gary opened his eyes to place an end to his recurring nightmare. It took him a few seconds to realize he was not at the Gym anymore, nor was he home back in Pallet Town. However, his body thanked him for the rest he so desperately needed as he pulled the covers closer to himself and stared at the TV at the end of the couch, near his feet. He heard the news anchors as they talked about the severe weather that had taken place the night before, and showed images of what the citizens of Saffron had woken up to see: chaos and death.

_"At least 17 people drowned last night as water rose nonstop for several hours. Businesses downtown are closed indefinitely due to extensive repairs that need to be done thanks to the raging waters that swept over the stores after windows shattered because of the water pressure on the streets. Cars were found piled on top of other cars, and trees fell over some others, as well as over homes. Some of the streets are still flooded and electricity is trying to be restored to hospitals and homes on the north side of the city. Saffron was given not given enough time to prepare."_

Gary sighed. If he had been as stubborn as he usually is, he and Misty could have been drowned victims of the storm number 18 and 19. _"What was I thinking?"_

Jen, once again, saved his life. Though not known as Jen in the real world, her street name was something that only strangers and relative new people to her called her. Gary had met her while traveling through Saffron in this exact Pokémon Center. She had stopped by to help Nurse Joy with an overload of trainers trying to defeat Sabrina, and Gary had stopped by because of the bad weather, just like last night. He had just defeated Erika from Celadon, where he had just made a new friend named Becca.

Gary had never accepted that he was jealous of Ash's traveling partners, but the truth was that he wanted real company all that time he was on the road. He had bumped into a few people here and there, but no one had left a considerable mark on him as Becca and Jen had. Becca was a girl who had run away from home when still young, and had sheltered herself in Pokémon training to have a way to make money, and have a place to stay and eat. Jen was a very well known resident of Saffron for her Pokémon copycat expertise, but she had little by little stopped doing what she had been doing in exchange for having a normal life.

It seemed everyone and anyone who had fame did not have it all.

As Gary had traveled through Celadon in search for the Pokémon gym, he had seen Becca staring at a donut place a few blocks away from the Pokémon Center. He would usually not stare at random girls in the street, but Becca's presence was difficult to ignore. He remembered exactly what she was wearing, and how her face was plastered on the glass window of the donut shop. She had the most straight and bright, natural blonde hair, as well as the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen. He admitted she was not bad to look at, even though she was wearing shoes that were older than his own sister, and overalls that hid her slim body in the same way the sideway cap she was wearing hid her pretty face.

_He stopped a few feet away from her, smiling at how she was completely unaware of her surroundings as the crispy donuts on display absorbed every bit of her attention. She licked her lips as they could almost taste the creamy inside of the donuts they had once tasted before when she was a little girl. Her hands instinctively reached for her pockets only to pull out the empty inside fabric from them. Becca sighed in sadness. She needed to defeat someone to get some cash to afford eating something tonight._

_Gary walked over the blonde and stood right next to her, pretending to stare at the donuts. Becca quickly realized she was not alone anymore and pretended to turn around and leave as she just took a couple of steps away from the glass and relaxed her back on the last concrete pillar of the store. Gary smiled as he walked inside the store and after a few minutes came out with a bag of dozen crispy donuts. He stopped at the entrance of the store and took one out, overly exaggerating its good taste before slowly eating it in front of Becca._

_Becca could not help to watch the fate of the donut as it disappeared in Gary's mouth. She watched him as he licked every single one of his fingers before closing the bag and walked in her direction. Becca pretended not to stare at the bag as Gary walked in front of her and stopped to face her._

_"This is too much for me. Want to share some?"_

_As much as Becca's stomach was screaming an affirmative response, her brain would not let her accept charity from strangers, especially a seemingly pretentious guy she had just met. With every little bit of willpower in her body she shook her head and immediately looked the other way. Gary smirked at the generally familiar indication of pride as he spoke again. "Do you really want to toss twelve donuts to waste?"_

_Becca spoke without turning to face him: "Bought a baker's dozen just for you?"_

_"I only paid for twelve."_

_Becca turned around and saw his mischievous little grin. She could not help to smile. "Why do you want me to eat them? Did you stuff them with love poison? Is that how you get girls?"_

_"You are a girl? I thought you were a dude."_

_Becca's eyes widened at the daring comment Gary Oak had just made. She knew he was kidding, trying to sound as tough as she wanted to sound, but it did not make the comment less hurtful. _

_"You are jerk, you know that?"_

_"I've been told."_

_"Look, I don't need your charity. Leave me alone."_

_"Charity? I was just doing the best thing I learned in pre-school: sharing."_

_"Sharing is a nice way to say charity. Now go."_

_"Look, I am just trying to help you. Why don't you make it easier for me and take the damn donuts?"_

_"I don't accept charity from anyone."_

_"I can see that," Gary said as he stared at her ragged clothes._

_Becca began feeling uncomfortable and stared away from him. She began feeling anxious and wanted to leave his presence but her stomach had not tasted anything in the past three days._

_Gary saw the uneasiness in her face but he would not give up until the skinny girl got some food in her system. Becca hoped that if she looked away he would eventually leave her alone but after five minutes of constant staring coming from him she decided to switch the topic and perhaps try to annoy the hell out of him until he left._

_She looked at him up and down, trying to find something on him to stir up conversation. The sun was slowly disappearing in the horizon. The night would come soon and she would spend one more day without food in her body. Thankfully for her, her eyes caught a glimpse of his Pokémon belt. _"He's a trainer!"

_Gary smiled at the new sparkle he saw in her eyes and could not help to make another uncomfortably arrogant comment to her. "Why are you starting at my crotch?"_

_Becca's head snapped up as both of her hands rested on her hips. "What? I am NOT looking at your crotch. You ain't that cute, you know?"_

_Gary smirked. "So, how do you want to pay for these donuts?"_

_Becca's anger melted. Paying for stuff was something she could not do and had not been able to do in days._

"I should've never left home,"_ she thought. Though, her wish quickly went away when the memories of fighting parents, long nights of arguments, and countless days of abuse returned to her mind. _"Look at me, thinking of going back home because a random guy wants to give me donuts."

_"I'll never go back to that hell."_

_"I beg you pardon?"_

_Becca realized her whisper had been heard by the arrogant boy. "I said I know how I can pay."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah, you're a trainer, aren't you?"_

_"Gary Oak, at your service."_

_"Becca Gall."_

_"Becca Gall…at my service?"_

_"Nope, just Becca Gall."_

_The two youngsters shook hands and stared at each other for a few seconds. The deep eyes Gary was giving her made her uncomfortable for a second time and she turned away._

_"So, how are you paying for these?"_

_"Pokémon battle."_

_"You're a trainer too?"_

_Becca nodded. "Best two out of three gets all the donuts. How's it sound?"_

_"Like a deal."_

_They both nodded at each other before realizing they were still in front of the donut shop. "We need to find another place to battle," Gary said._

_"I know a place," Becca began, "there is a park a few blocks down from here. It's almost dark; people should be leaving it by now."_

_"Ok, lead the way, I am not from here," Gary said._

_Becca nodded and began heading south. Gary followed her without saying another word. Celadon had always been a very busy city, and even at night there were still plenty of cars and people in the streets. Gary stared at the busy and hurried up pedestrians as they made their way home._

_"So, where you from?"_

_Gary returned his gaze to the back of the blonde's hair before he replied. "Pallet Town."_

_"Middle-of-nowhere Pallet Town?"_

_"Yeah, boring place if you ask me."_

_"I bet."_

_"How about you?"_

_"I'm from Saffron."_

_"I am heading to Saffron," Gary stated. "Defeating Erika was a breeze."_

_"I know; Sabrina too."_

_Gary furrowed. He had defeated Erika a few days ago but had refrained from taking on Sabrina yet. He had seen the battles on the most recent televised Pokémon tournament, and very few even had a chance against her._

_"I find it hard to believe a person like you defeated Sabrina so easily."_

_"I don't live to make believers out of people like you."_

_Fair enough._

_In a matter of seconds, Gary and Becca had arrived to the mentioned park, and as Becca had said, the families that were hanging around there were wrapping it up. "Want to start the battle? A nice comfortable bed in the Pokémon Center is waiting for me."_

_"Sure, and your donuts are mine."_

_"We'll see about that."_

_The trainers stood on opposite sides as each took out their first pokeball. Gary wanted Becca to have something to eat as soon as possible, so he wasted no time in calling out his first Pokémon: Squirtle._

_"That's a cute Squirtle!"_

_"Thanks."_

_Becca nodded to express her honesty as she called out her Pokémon. The red light of the pokeball left a Haunter floating in the air. "Ready?"_

_Gary nodded in agreement._

_"Squirtle, water gun, go!"_

_Squirtle nodded and began running towards Haunter. Haunter stared at the blue turtle as it evaded attacks that were not there and used random water gun attacks towards Haunter. Haunter received the attacks that did nothing more than refresh him. Haunter laughed. "Thank you, we've walking under the sun for days. Haunter, confusion!"_

_"Squirtle, use your defensive maneuvers!"_

_Squirtle quickly did as told and disappeared inside its own shell. Haunter's eyes glowed yellow as everything around him began to slow down and look fuzzy and distorted. Even Gary felt a little bit of the attack Haunter was releasing. The attack lasted about five seconds, and at the end of it Gary had to blink several times to regain control of his eyes. Pokémon attacks usually don't affect humans unless the attacks are directly aimed to them. Gary knew that the Pokémon had only aimed at his Squirtle, but the intensity of the attack has spread out of the battlefield. Gary looked at Becca to see if she had been affected by the confusion attack, but she looked as secure and composed as she had when the battle started._

_Gary looked at his Pokémon and called it to come out and continue battling. Squirtle did not respond._

_"Squirtle, stop goofing around! Come out!"_

_Becca smiled at Gary's exasperation. She knew Squirtle was out for the count. "My Pokémon are strong, Gary. I've got nothing else to do but train them."_

_Gary smirked. "I'm just getting started, baby."_

_"Me too."_

_Gary called Squirtle a couple of times more before finally giving up and calling him back. Becca had won the first battle. "Did you get this lucky when you battled Sabrina?"_

_"Are you always this hateful when you're losing?"_

_Gary growled. He would never judge a girl by her hunger ever again._

_"Pokeball, go!"_

_Gary released his second Pokémon: Fearrow."_

_ Becca furrowed. Did he know what he was doing? Was he playing nice with her?_

_"Fearrow, swift!"_

_"Haunter, Hypnosis!"_

_"Shit," Gary muttered._

_In moments, Gary's Fearrow was catching some z's on the ground._

_"I think that makes it your two out of three."_

_"I guess it does."_

_Gary called back his Pokémon as Haunter flew towards Becca to hug her. "Great job, Haunter!"_

_Haunter smiled at Becca before returning to his pokeball all by himself._

_"It was a quick but good battle. That Haunter is pretty strong."_

_"Thank you. You gave up too fast, though."_

_Gary wanted to say he had, but as much as he had planned to let her win so she could eat, the truth was that he was good, and that Haunter was one heck of a Pokémon. Gary had battled many times, and no Pokémon had ever had such a strong range of an attack to affect him until now._

_"So, ready for your prize?"_

_"Yup, and I'm going to enjoy them with hot cocoa!"_

_"Ok."_

_Gary walked towards Becca and handed her the bag of donuts. She grabbed them took one before closing the bag again and stared at Gary. "Where are you going now?"_

_"I think I will camp out tonight and head for Saffron tomorrow."_

_"I see."_

_Becca stared at Gary, not knowing how to ask him to stay. It had been a long time since she had had someone her age to speak to or learn from. She had not had friends in a very long, long time. Gary stared at her, also wanting to stay and have a friend for a night, but he was too ashamed to ask her to camp with him._

_"Well, I guess I'll see you around. With those skills, I'm sure I'll see you at the Pokémon Tournament in Indigo."_

_"With your skills, I don't know if I would!"_

_Gary smirked. She had her moments too._

_Gary nodded and turned around. He placed his hands in his pockets as he began walking towards the outskirts of the city. He replayed in his head what had just happened and realized that he had a lot to learn still. He had been so focused in defeating Ash in everything he had forgotten there were trainers stronger than Ash and himself._

_"I need to stop wasting time."_

_Besides all the commotion and defeat, he felt like he had helped someone tonight. He did not know when had been the last time Becca had something to eat or a place to stay. Regardless of his lost battle, he wanted to believe he had made a difference in someone's life for one day._

_"Gary, wait."_

_Or maybe longer._

_"The Pokémon Center is closer than the forest, and it's probably safer anyway. Want to share these donuts with me at the Center?"_

_Gary stopped and turned around, staring at her now friendly blue eyes. "I guess that's a smarter idea. Don't mind if I do."_

_With that, Gary Oak walked with the newly met friend to Celadon's Pokémon Center and spent the next five days with someone who wanted what he wanted: a friend._

Gary came back to reality from his daydreaming and realized he was still lying on the couch. He stood up and walked to the still resting Misty on the other side of the room. He caressed her forehead and the image of Becca being taken to jail came to his mind. Becca was the second woman who had gotten in trouble for him. _"First Misty, now Becca. Who's next, Jen?"_

Jen.

Jen and Gary had met just a couple of days after he and Becca had parted ways. He had learned a lot from Becca about ghost Pokémon and about Sabrina's techniques. He had also learned about her past and her dreams; and he had exchanged a few of his own with her. Looking at Misty and thinking about Becca made him remember how he had met Jen.

_Gary Oak had been walking around in circles in Saffron city for a whole day now. The city was much, much, much bigger than the map showed. He had once heard of a city on the other side of the world on which people never slept. He could only imagine that Saffron was the equivalent of that city for Kanto. He had arrived to the city last night, but had been walking around it for about four hours, and he could swear he had walked by this same street at least ten times already. He had no clue where he was making the wrong turn._

_The sun was up high in the sky, making Gary wonder if it was lunch time. He had not eaten anything since two days ago when he and Becca had gone their separate ways. He had to find a place to eat and take a break before trying to take on Sabrina today as he had stayed on the outskirts of the city before finally joining civilization this morning. He continued to walk towards the north side of the city, where he had been told several times was the host of the Pokémon Gym and Pokémon Center. He had tried to continue walking north, but some streets were only for cars and he did not have the card required to travel by the speed train._

_He arrived at the train station, hoping someone would lend him or sell him a card. Apparently, he had to be 18 years of age or had an adult buy him the card for him. Some kids had have accidents in the train before, and the city had limited the age for buying a card for it for this reason. Gary was determined to have someone buy it for him. He was not just any kid. He was a Pokémon trainer; a serious one at it too. A stupid train card was not going to stop him from defeating Sabrina._

_He arrived at the train station again, but this time he did not stop outside and continued his path like the other 20 million times he got there before. He decided to go inside and ask around for a way to get to the Pokémon Center. He knew that if he made it to the Center, the Center would take him to the Pokémon Gym. _

_He hurried up inside as dozens of people around him pushed him around. People in Saffron had proven to be somewhat rude and always in a rush. Saffron was the most important city in Kanto, and one of the most known cities around the world. Some people said that in a few years, Saffron would be the center of most, if not all, the major companies in Kanto. Gary did not think the city deserved such honor or that it would ever be the host of anything that significant._

_He finally made it inside, and to his surprise, the building was more complex and larger than what he saw from the outside. There wasn't only one train, but dozens of them. Dozens of underground trains and on-the-street trains that made horrible humming and honking sounds surrounded him. People in suits and carrying briefcases walked around without minding the tiny kid standing next to them. Other people were sitting on the benches, probably waiting for their train, as they read the Saffron Herald. Some others were walking and talking on their cell phones, or sitting on a random corner staring attentively to their laptop screens. _

_Gary looked around and saw huge screens on the top of the walls that displayed the times trains arrived and departed, as well as destinations, the stock market results, and the current weather. In fact, there was a thunderstorm alert for Saffron. Gary had no idea where a thunderstorm would come from if the sun outside was as bright as he had ever seen it before in his short life. Gary slowly skimmed the entire place looking for the ticket booth. Becca had told him that he had to take the train to get to the north side of the city for the gym and center. She had failed to mention, though, the difficult task it would be to get on the actual train. As a native of Saffron, she had been born around trains and train cards, so the ideas seemed natural to her. He could not blame her for leaving this minor detail out of the travel advice. Besides, the time he had spent with her had been worthwhile to him._

_Gary's eyes took a while to adjust to the constant movement of people and tried to slowly walk around them to find the ticket booths. He knew he could just ask someone but he did not want to attract attention to himself. If someone was in a bad mood and saw a kid walking around the train station on his own, he would probably be sent outside and have the police being called on him. His eyes finally caught a glimpse of long lines made on the wall to his left, and he hurried his pace to see if that was the place he was looking for. He read the signs that said TICKET BOOTH on the top side of the wall, and saw several lines of people waiting to buy their own ticket or pass for the trains. There were about ten different booths, and each one had a range of numbers on the top of the windows. The numbers read R1-R10, R11-R20, and so forth until the last one read R91-R100. Gary could only assume that the R's stood for routes. "What kind of city has 100 routes?"_

_He had found the place, and the place to buy the ticket from. All he needed now was to find some kind soul who would buy him the ticket, and someone who would tell him which route to buy. He had seen a big screen TV that displayed the routes, but neither of them said anything about the center or the gym. Gary sighed. _

_"I'm going nowhere so very fast."_

_Gary growled at his current luck and thought about calling his grandfather to ask for help. Yet, how could he? He had said to his entire family, so many times, that he was all grown-up and did not need any help from anyone. He only needed three more badges to be able to compete in the League, not counting Sabrina's. How could he show weakness now?_

_Gary decided to sit down until he could think of something else. He could not find any decent seat, so he found an unused spot on the opposite wall where the booths were, and rested his back against it as he sat on the floor. He took out his Pokédex and killed some time as he went through the list of Pokémon he had and the ones he had seen. He knew several of the Pokémon he was still missing were native of the Cinnabar Islands, Seafoam Islands, the Safari in Fuchsia, and the mysterious cave in Cerulean where no one could have access unless you had defeated the Elite Four. _

_He also knew that if he left Kanto to go to the Orange Islands he would find more and different Pokémon, but going to the Orange Islands was something so far away from reach for him still. He did not want to take the name of Pallet Town and Kanto with him out of the country until he had defeated his own local gyms. _

_"Step right up, see what you think you see!"_

_Gary's planning and daydreaming were interrupted when a female voice, a kid's voice nonetheless, spoke in a high tone to the people present in the station. "Step right up and see what you want to see!"_

_Gary looked up and searched for the source of the voice. It came from a few feet to his right, where a tiny, blue-haired girl with a Ditto stood, trying to catch the attention of the people passing by. "The Amazing Copycat and her friendly Pokémon Ditto can show you the unseen. It's free to watch! It's free to stay!"_

_Gary stood up as he saw some people looking at the girl and her tiny, pink, dancing Pokémon. He took a few steps towards her and stayed a considerable distance away from the both of them, but close enough to see what the girl advertised. He was surprised to see the girl did not care to call attention to herself. She had to be around Gary's age, so she was probably not allowed in there either. "Yes, everyone, come and see what only your eyes wish to see."_

_When a handful of people had stopped to see what she was doing, she smiled and grabbed what seemed like a long piece of fabric. She and the Pokémon got underneath it, and in a matter of seconds, she was dressed, and __**looked**__ like Sabrina. The people around her were in awe._

_Ditto had transformed himself into Kadabra. He was almost an exact copy of it, but his eyes remained Ditto's eyes. Some people walked away when they saw that. "Wait up! You haven't seen the next act!"_

_The Pokémon and the girl got under the blanket again, and this time they came out and looked like Erica from Celadon, and the Pokémon looked like Vileplume. However, its eyes were still Ditto's eyes. The rest of the people left. The girl tried to call them back, but they kept walking away from her. She sighed, put her stuff away in her backpack at began walking towards the entrance of the train. Ditto followed close behind._

_It took Gary's brain a few seconds to register that she was his way into the train. She looked very confident and did not stop her path to the train entrance. She knew where she was going and seemed like nothing would stop her. How was she going to get away with it?_

_Gary ran after her, but the people kept getting on his way. She was disappearing behind the crowd even more and more, until all he saw was her colorful backpack in between a couple of men. He was losing her. If she disappeared, he would be stuck in this train station for the rest of his life! He did not want to call attention to himself. He did not want to get in trouble, but if he did not do something to get her attention, he would have no clue how to get out of this place. He tried to remember what name she had used for herself, but he could not recall any actual name but the nickname she used for herself. He hoped she responded to that name, because he could not see her backpack anymore._

_"Copycat! Copycat, wait for me!"_

_No response._

_"Copycat, please! Stop!"_

_Gary continued to run against the crowd, bumping into people, almost tripping on himself. Copycat was long gone. "Dammit!"_

_Gary stood in the middle of the crowd. He looked around, hoping she had stopped somewhere. All he could see were the backs of people who could not care less if he stayed there until he died. Gary sighed as he turned around and took one step back to the corner where he had once sat just a few minutes ago. He took a second step – and the floor whimpered._

_Gary took a step back. _

"_What the hell?"_

_He looked down and realized he had stepped on a Pokémon: Ditto. The poor Pokémon had small tears on his eyes and had a terrified look on his face. Gary picked him up and cleaned him up before speaking to him. "Where's your trainer, buddy?"_

"_Ditto!"_

_A female voice calling the Pokémon rang on Gary's ears. He knew who the voice belonged to, and never in his life had he been so glad to step on a Pokémon. "What are you doing to my Ditto?"_

_Gary held the Pokémon and played with him as if it were a baby. "I didn't do anything to your Ditto; you're the one who left it behind."_

"_I didn't leave it behind! The crowd got in the way."_

"_Pokémon should be kept in their pokeballs. What kinda trainer are you?"_

"_Just give me my Ditto back!"_

"_Ok."_

_Gary handed the Ditto back to Copycat. She grabbed him and made sure he was not hurt. She then took out a pokeball and called him back. "Thank you. Ditto is very scared of being alone."_

"_Aren't we all?"_

_Copycat nodded at Gary's response. "You alone too?"_

"_I've got my Pokémon."_

"_Ah! Trainer. Heading to see Sabrina, I guess."_

"_You guess right. Though we've got no clue how to get there."_

"_You take the train, route 57 north, and exit when the train makes the last stop."_

"_How do you get on the train?"_

"_You walk into it?"_

"_I know that much. How do you buy a ticket? I read that tickets are not sold to kids."_

"_They are not, but trainers ride for free."_

_Gary could not help to smile._

"_Look," Copycat started, "I am on my way to the Pokémon Center to help my friend with the overload of trainers. The Center is just a few blocks away from the Gym. We can go together if you want."_

"_Sounds great! Lead the way, Copycat."_

"_It's Jen."_

"_Ok, lead the way, Jen!"_

_Jen nodded before turning around and guiding Gary inside the proper train._

_To Gary, being inside the train felt more like an alternative compound of mobile offices with people that worked in different places that came together to do part of their job during the commute. The two trainers were surrounded by adults who wore suits and ties, and did not acknowledge the youngsters' existence at all. The trains were very fancy, though. There were seats that had tables that appeared out of nowhere, possibly to provide a better temporary workspace for the executives riding the train. There were also comfortable seats with cushions for those who choose to catch up with their rest rather than working more during the long commute. Some seats provided electricity to charge up laptops or cell phones at a small fee._

_Gary and Jen had sat next to each other, and avoided the adults as much as possible. While Gary's future was uncertain to him, he did not think he would be the kind of person who would work day- in and day-out for a big company or industry. Having a desk job did not appeal to him._

_"So, where you from?"_

_"Pallet Town."_

_"I'm from here."_

_"This is a huge city. Bet you never get bored."_

_"It might be a huge city, but most people don't appreciate the simple things anymore."_

_Gary furrowed. "What do you mean?"_

_"My dream, ya'know. I love imitating people and Pokémon. My Ditto still requires more training to overcome the eye issue, but in any other town, kids would love to see my show."_

_"You were performing for adults, not kids."_

_"I've tried to perform for kids, but they are not interested in a circus show."_

_"I was."_

_"Most kids aren't. All I want is to have my own show and perform in front of dozens of people at a time. I'm not the best trainer, but that's not a big deal for me."_

_"Well, I want to be the best trainer…but I couldn't find my way around a train station."_

_Jen giggled. "We all have obstacles in life."_

_Both trainers laughed._

_"Are you ready for Sabrina? I'm heading to the center to help Nurse Joy. There are plenty of trainers that can't defeat Sabrina and the center's packed."_

_"I won't be here long. I'll defeat Sabrina in one try."_

_"Are you that good?"_

_"I'm one of the best."_

_"Always this modest?"_

_"Only saying it as it is."_

_The train came to a stop right in front of a small porch. It was the exit for the gym and the center. Gary rolled his eyes when he saw the downpour right outside._

_"I'm gonna get soaked!"_

_"Didn't bring an umbrella?"_

_Gary shook his head. Jen smiled and took out her pokeball. She called out her only Pokémon and asked it to mold into an umbrella. Gary's eyes widened._

_"How in the world did you teach him how to do that?"_

_"I'm one of the best, too."_

_Gary nodded and smiled in agreement. The two trainers left the station and ran down the streets as they made their way to Saffron's Pokémon Center, and to quite some days of fun and friendship that would stay with them for the rest of their lives._

Gary had stayed in Saffron a few more days than he had planned even though he defeated Sabrina the very next day. He had stayed to tour Saffron, and to let Jen tour him around the city. Jen and Gary decided to leave Saffron together and then go their separate ways when needed. Gary was heading to Fuchsia; Jen was heading to Vermillion City. Their traveling days were something very special for the both of them, and Gary had considered staying with her. Yet, the old Gary Oak nagged at him that he could not get distracted and had to remain focused on what his goal was. After two weeks of being close "traveling partners," Jen and Gary parted ways in Vermillion City.

They kept in touch by email and occasional phone calls, but their busy lives always got in the way of becoming something more than long-distance _friends_. Gary became involved in the research business, and Jen decided to have a life. Becca found someone to share her weirdness with, and while Gary kept contact with the both of them, his own busy schedule kept him from pursing anything more with either of them.

_"But with Misty it's different,"_ Gary thought as he touched her cheek.

This time he was not going to make the same mistakes he had made when he met Becca and Jen. Granted they were both awesome girls, he believed that the reason he had not initiated any romantic relationship with them was because neither of them was meant to be with him. Deep inside him he knew that things happened for a reason, and that his heart was waiting for someone like the beaten up girl resting on the couch in front of him to be the one to stay with him.

Gary took a few moments to dress up and made sure Misty was ok. Regardless of how bad Saffron had gotten hit, he knew that neither of them could stay much longer in the city. He walked around and gathered his and her belongings before peaking outside and making sure his ride was still there. Luckily for him, the car only suffered some minor dents from hail. The waters had begun to recede around the center, and getting out of the parking lot would be a much easier task than getting there last night.

"We need to leave, Red."

Gary carried all of their belongings and carefully placed them inside the car. He was unsure if the search for the two outlaws was still up in the city since they had better things to worry about, but he did not want to take any chances. They had made it this far; yet they still had a long way to go. He closed the passenger's seat and headed to the driver's seat. He started the engine and slowly drove to the front of the lounge's door, making sure the passenger's seat had easy access to the door.

He turned off the engine and walked around the car. He walked inside the room. Locked the door behind him, turned around and froze on the spot.

A regular civilian was in front of him. He had a mischievous grin on his face. He looked everything but friendly to him. "I _knew_ I had not seen things. I saw you come in last night. You and the Cerulean gym over there," the trainer said as he pointed at Misty.

"There's a lot of money out there in exchange for you."

Gary swallowed hard.

"I can give you money right now if you stay quiet and let us leave."

"Are you kidding? There is a load of cash waiting for me. I don't think you've got that much cash on you right now. The League is gonna thank me for this."

"Look, you don't know what happened, we are being wrongfully accused. If you let them catch us, we will never find the truth.  
"What the hell makes you think I care about it?"

"Please, you're a trainer, just like us."

"No, you're not! You guys have it easy. You knew people in high places and got an easy way up. You've got no clue what it is to struggle your way up."

Gary knew this was not entirely true. Yes, his grandfather was a well-known Pokémon researcher, and Misty's parents were Gym Leaders. However, these two _advantages_ had not made their lives easier at all.

"Ryan! Did you find them?"

A male voice was heard coming from the front of the Center. Gary could only assume Ryan was the guy in front of him. "You can't go back there!" Nurse Joy yelled as she followed the second male heading to the back lounge.

"Sir, you cannot be back here!"

The second trainer stood behind Ryan and the same face appeared on his face: a face that showed that both trainers looked like sacks of money for them. Nurse Joy froze. "Gary, I tried to stop them…"

"Grant, take the girl, I'll deal with this guy here."

"Do not move, Grant. You touch her and you're gonna regret it."

Grant stared at Gary who was shooting daggers at the trainer. Ryan did not move either, and Grant made no effort to reach over for Misty's body.

A moment of silence fell on them as the back door opened and an unfamiliar face dropped by. Everyone turned around and Gary found himself surrounded by a third trainer that had just come in through the back door.

The trainer had long and unruly blond hair and blue eyes. He looked at Gary's back and then at the two other trainers before staring at Joy.

"Did I come at a bad time? Is Jen here?"

Gary turned around at the mention of Jen's name. What kind of connection did he have with her?

As if on cue, Jen appeared from the front door and gave Nurse Joy a confused look before locking the door behind her.

"There is one too many people in here."

"Look, all we want is the girl and the trainer. We won't make a big deal; we'll just drop them off at the police and get our reward," Grant said.

"You are not taking her anywhere."

"Look, dude, you can't do shit about it," Ryan said as he approached Misty. Gary could not take it anymore.

"I said no!"

Gary ran behind Ryan and pushed him to the ground. Grant ran behind Gary and tried to lock his neck from behind but Nurse Joy tripped him out of the way, falling on the already hit Ryan. Gary took this opportunity to walk over both fallen trainers and grab Misty. He jumped from the couch where she had been to the coffee table and then on the couch he had been sleeping on last night before running out of the room. Jen ran towards the back door and pulled the blond trainer out of the way before locking the door behind her.

Nurse Joy stood behind the two trainers on the floor. "You are not allowed to be back here. I won't have you arrested if you get out of my Center at this moment."

Both trainers stood up and stared at Nurse Joy, Ryan giving her a defiant look. "You have us arrested and we'll tell the police you were hiding Gary and Misty."

"I don't know what you are talking about," said Joy knowing that a couple of well-known brats like them would not get easily believed.

"Look, lady. Get outta our way before we make you."

"You want to add assault to your charges?"

Ryan growled before pushing Nurse Joy out of the way and running towards the back door. Grant looked down at the Nurse and thought about helping her, but Ryan yelled at him asking for help to open the back door. "You just pushed the nurse, dude."

"So, what? She's going to jail anyway! Just like that people from Celadon did."

Nurse Joy stood up and walked outside the lounge. Neither trainer made an effort to stop her as their main concern was to open the door and following the outlaws. She knew there was no way they could open the back door and that they had to come through the front door to get out of the center. Nurse Joy stared at the two trainers and realized what she had to do. She sighed as she stepped out to the counter and took a few steps to the front floor. She held her head with her right hand as she used the left hand to aid herself to walk around the place. She pretended to be hurt and confused as she collapsed on the floor.

"Nurse Joy!"

Everyone in the center stood around the fallen nurse. Chansey ran to her _coworker_ and trainer as she checked her vital signs and ordered the rest of the bystanders to step aside. One of the trainers slowly walked towards Nurse Joy in spite of Chansey's warning to stay away. "Nurse Joy, what happened to you?"

"Help…me…please…two trainers attacked me…"

"What?"

All the trainers around the Pokémon and the nurse stared at each other, wondering who the culprit among them was. "They're in the back lounge…they went in there without authorization."

Chansey carried Nurse Joy to one of the couches in the front of the center as other trainers plotted against the supposed attackers. "We should call the police first. Maybe they're gone by now."

"Who was it? Did anyone see?"

As the confusion of the current events dawned on the trainers and onlookers alike, Grant and Ryan had finally given up on trying opening the back door. Both trainers ran out of the back lounge only to find a crowd standing in their way. Grant and Ryan were both unaware of the situation and attempted to walk by the crowd as if nothing had happened. Yet, the trainers stared at them with upset eyes and were quick to let them know they were not going anywhere.

"I just called the police! They're gonna come and arrest you, you bastards!"

"Yeah! How could you hurt Nurse Joy?"

"She got in the way; now get out of our way before we do the same to you!"

The crowd's moods just worsened at Ryan's words.

"Get him!"

Nurse Joy felt her head truly ache as she witnessed what was happening in her center. Grant and Ryan tried to defy the crowd of trainers but were unable to take one more step. The trainers held Grant and Ryan on opposite side of the room. Meanwhile, a couple of police officers stood outside the Pokémon Center as they watched the commotion and decided to walk inside. Nurse Joy found this to be a good moment to pass out.

The two officers stared at the crowd before taking out their guns and asking everyone to raise their hands. "Ok, what the hell is going on here? Where are Misty and Gary Oak?"

The trainers stared at each other and wondered what the officer was talking about. "Misty and Gary are not here, officer. We called you to tell you these two guys beat up Nurse Joy."

"Wait a minute," the officer began "I got a call from here saying that Gary and Misty were spotted hiding in this Pokémon Center. Prank calls of that type are against the law, kids."

"But officer," another trainer intervened "We didn't call for that! Look, Nurse Joy is unconscious on that couch over there!"

The two officers looked behind them and saw the poor Pokémon holding Nurse Joy's hands. One of the officers took out his radio and called an ambulance to the scene. "Let's arrest these kids."

"No, wait!" Ryan screamed.

"Shut up, man! You get what you deserved!"

"No one lied, Misty and Gary were here! We're the ones who made the call. We had to push Nurse Joy out of the way because she was allowing them to escape!" Ryan said.

The two officers looked at each other, not sure what to do. "We're not lying! You gotta believe us! Gary was wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, a black shirt and a black jacket. Misty was unconscious and beat up, but she was wearing blue pants, tennis shoes, a white turtleneck shirt and a blue coat. They went through the back door but they were on foot. They couldn't go far!"

"You guys are full of it! You are just trying to get out of going to jail," One trainer said.

"Yeah, just turn yourselves in!" Another trainer said.

The crowd began booing and screaming at the two trainers for a few seconds before the two officers got tired of the noise and yelled at everyone to stop.

"Look everyone, let them go, we'll take them to the station. Go back to what you were doing and we'll take care of…"

"Officer Tanner, please report. We need reinforcements on your area. Misty Waterflower and Gary Oak are being chased down the street from where you are."

Silence engulfed the room. The officers stared at each other, then at the passed out Nurse Joy, and then at Ryan and Grant. They could not believe Nurse Joy would put her job on the line to help the two most wanted people at the moment escape. Then again, Becca had.

"Officer Tanner, we are awaiting notification."

The officer slowly grabbed his radio as he stared at the trainers who had made the call. "Roger that; we're on our way."

The trainers let go of Ryan and Grant and they quickly made their way out to follow Gary and Misty. The two officers told the rest of the trainers to stay behind as they disappeared behind the glass doors. The silence remained inside the Pokémon Center as every trainer inside stared at Nurse Joy.

Outside, the police officers had spotted Gary and Misty. To the officer's surprise, Misty had woken up and was seen running next to Gary Oak.

"Stop right there!"

Neither of them stopped.

"Stop or we will shoot!"

The streets around the center were still full of debris; a car chase seemed out of the question at the moment. The officers had run behind the two former League members for ten blocks now. The chase was getting repetitive and annoying for the police.

"This is Officer Tanner; we have a chance to surround the suspects. They are going inside the station. The station is closed down for now."

"Roger that, we are rearranging the reinforcements as we speak. Waterflower and Oak will be locked up inside."

"We're going in."

"10-4"

The next five hours were spent trying to find Gary and Misty inside the station. The officers had seen them going in, but no one had gone out. However, their whereabouts were still unknown. An extensive and exhaustive search of the train station and the surrounding buildings had gone on for quite some time. At the end of this search, all the officers had found was the tired up bodies of a blond Pokémon trainer named Britt, along with his girlfriend, formerly known as Copycat of Saffron dressed as Misty Waterflower and Gary Oak.


	4. Remembrance

**Summary of previous chapter: **Gary remembers how he met Becca and Jen as he realizes how everyone he knows is paying the price of his mistakes. As Gary gets ready to leave the Saffron Pokémon Center, two trainers –who are up to no good, go against the orders of Nurse Joy of going to the back of the Center and catch Gary and Misty hiding. The trainers try to take the still unconscious Misty with them and turn them both in to the authorities for the reward money, but after a quick and confusing fight, Becca, a mysterious blonde trainer, Gary and Misty make it out of the center. Nurse Joy pretends to be injured to try and get the two intruding trainers arrested but her attempts are hindered by a call to the cops on duty. Misty and Gary have been spotted running away from the officers outside the Gym. After a long chase, the officers catch the two outlaws in the train station of Saffron, only to realize that they are not Gary and Misty, but Jen –Copycat, and her boyfriend Britt.

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 4: Remembrance**

The smell of ocean was overwhelming around the coastal city of Vermillion. Gary enjoyed the cold breeze as he held in his hands a small piece of paper with very important information written on it: the location of a private boat –Lt. Surge's boat, which would take him and Misty to Cinnabar Island. The winter was making its way into Kanto even more than before, and Gary was glad that he and Misty had a place to stay for the last couple of days. Gary had met Lt. Surge when he battled him for his badge; but once he began researching, Gary had gotten Lt. Surge his Elekit. Lt. Surge had been very grateful to Gary as Elekit were not around the area when they were first discovered, but Gary thought it would be a great idea to have the best electric Pokémon trainer in the region train a new species. Gary and Lt. Surge exchanged information that Gary would later publish and share with the rest of the scientific community. Lt. Surge's fame and reputation grew by the second and he always made a point of how much he owed Gary. Gary hoped and wished that Lt. Surge's feeling of indebt was strong enough to help them run away.

Luckily for the Cerulean fugitives, his feeling of debt _really_ was strong.

The first thing that had been done was to return the car to a rental place. Lt. Surge had personally gone to return it, stating that he had borrowed it from Bill. The second thing Gary did was take a warm bath and change into more comfortable and warming clothes, and made sure that Misty received the same care. Lt. Surge had welcomed them into his home and had offered them to stay as long as they wished, but Gary had said they needed to leave Kanto as soon as possible. Lt. Surge agreed.

_"I only believe half of what I see, and half of what I hear,"_ Lt. Surge had said when Gary asked for help. Gary had offered him money to keep their presence a secret, but Lt. Surge had not accepted any. _"I owe you a favor, kid. Take this as payback."_

And boy, was it payback indeed!

Lt. Surge had given them a roof, hot food, and secrecy. The Gym Leader of Vermillion had made sure Gary understood that not everyone in the League agreed with what was happening to them. After seeing Misty's bruised and unconscious body, Lt. Surge's belief that there was something more going on than what the League was saying had grown even more. He had known Misty's parents and he knew that the Waterflower sisters were everything but criminals.

As Gary closed the window to his room, he returned to his task of packing his and Misty's belongings. They were scheduled to leave tonight and head to Cinnabar Island. They would travel all night and make it to Blaine's home before the sun rose up again.

Blaine was another Gym Leader that owed Gary a favor.

Blaine's Magmar had fallen very ill for a long time when Gary had begun his researching career. Gary had a lot of respect for Blaine and his strong Pokémon, and had immediately offered assistance. After a few weeks of constantly traveling back and forth to Cinnabar, Gary discovered the cause of the illness and provided Blaine with a solution to Magmar's problem. Blaine was eternally grateful to the young Oak.

Regardless of how much Gary had wanted to quit research, he had sure made some good friends in high places to help him in situations like the one he was encountering now. As much as he damned research, research was helping him back. However, almost everyone who had helped him out had ended up in more trouble than him, instead. Becca and Bryan had been sent to jail for helping him and Misty get out of the hospital. Jen and her boyfriend Britt had fallen victims of the same faith. A bitter Gary remembered the last seconds of his stay in Saffron:

_Jen dragged her boyfriend Britt out of the back lounge of the Saffron Pokémon Center. Gary placed Misty on the back of the car, and Britt and Jen went inside it as well. In a matter of minutes, all four of them exchanged clothes. Jen gave Gary one last hug before she and Britt made their away around the Pokémon center to catch the attention of the police officers so Gary and Misty could escape. When Gary heard the cars and the cops chasing the fake Misty and Gary, he sped up and drove away from Saffron with tears in his eyes. _

_"Another one bites the dust for me," He thought._

Hours later he had heard on the radio that Britt and Jen had given the cops quite some run for their money but had been caught in the same train station where he and Jen had met. They were immediately arrested and taken into custody of the Pokémon League. Copycat had given her last imitation show and it had been the best. It was sad, though, that only she and her boyfriend had enjoyed it. Jen had been teaching Britt how to imitate people for the past three years. He had passed his final test with flying colors when officers could not tell he was not Gary Oak.

Yet, the price they had to pay was too much in Gary's eyes. There had been many people who had either died or gotten hurt since the whole Gym ordeal happened. Weston had been shot at the carnival. Misty had almost died when Jake tried to win the battle with the Pikachu. Jake's Pikachu had died from injuries caused by the fire. Becca, Bryan, Jen and Britt were in jail. Ash's Pikachu had died. Misty had no other friends but him; Brock hated Misty, and Ash did not want to know anything about Misty. What had he done to deserve this?

And then there was Emily Dragon, the mysterious woman who had sent Jake to get rid of Misty. And to top things off, he had found out this morning that the three people who died at the fire were Jessie, Cassidy and Butch from Team Rocket. The only survivor had been James. The more Gary thought about all the people involved in this situation, the less sense it all made.

_"Where did we go wrong?"_

And what if Misty was truly pregnant? He could not stop himself from remembering what had happened that night at the Gym, and how he met the person responsible for assaulting Misty in such a damageable way.

_The office was thrashed. The furniture was either flipped over or broken, and the floor was covered in paper, trash and…red stains._

_"Blood."_

_Gary became uneasy. "Misty, are you here?"_

_No response._

_Gary began screaming Misty's name as he moved around the furniture around him in order to be able to get to the corner Alakazam had felt a human presence. He knew that if she was not here, it meant that she was dead somewhere in the Gym. He had to find her. He just had to. The blood on the walls was fresh and dripping to the floor._

_"Misty, talk to me! We need to get out!"_

_Gary heard Dragonite trying to help out, but the heat was also getting the best out of the Pokémon. Gary thought he could ask Dragonite to use one of his ice attacks but he feared it would hurt Misty if she was indeed somewhere around. _

_Gary's search took him to the corner of the room where Alakazam had felt Misty's presence. He got on his knees as he moved papers and pieces of furniture. He finally saw a hand come up from the side of the pile of trash._

"_Misty!"_

_Gary grabbed the hand and pulled it up only to find it did not belong to Misty or a woman. Gary had found Butch._

"_What the hell?"_

_Gary's memory was triggered. The officer had said that a man taken to the hospital had said there four people inside the building. There were two women dead, one guy in the hospital and now an unconscious Butch. Gary's heart began racing. There were two possibilities. One: Misty had escaped the building before the fire and had accidentally lost her Pokémon belt; or two: Misty was one of the women dead outside._

_Gary sighed. He did not know what Team Rocket had to do with the fire, Jake, or perhaps Emily Dragon's attempt to get rid of Misty, but he could not leave Butch behind. Gary prepared himself to lift up Butch when he heard Dragonite roar._

_Gary looked up and saw Dragonite carrying Misty in its arms. _

_He ran to the Pokémon and thanked him as he grabbed Misty and laid her on the floor. He checked her pulse and was glad to find one even though it was slow. She seemed bruised and burnt here and there but other than that she looked fine. He could not help to smile as he touched her face. "You definitely need life insurance, Red."_

_Misty smiled._

_Gary frowned as he did not know if his mind was playing tricks on him while he held Misty closer to him. "Do you know I'm here?"_

_Misty slightly nodded._

"_Are your sisters here?"_

_Misty shook her head._

"_Then I'm gonna get you out, ok? Can you hold on a little bit more for me?"_

_Misty nodded before opening her one good eye and using the last of her strength to pull herself up and press her lips against Gary's._

_Gary took half a second to react and kissed her back before she finally passed out in his arms. Gary placed Misty safely in his arms. He then walked towards the door and used Misty's fingerprint to open it. The door opened without further adieu. He took one step forward to leave the room, hoping Gyrados could take care of Misty while he returned for Butch. All of a sudden, he felt his legs failing on him._

"_What just…"_

_Gary followed the pain of his legs to his back to his head. Something had hit his head hard enough for the pain to take over his entire body and bringing him down to his knees. He felt a hot liquid pouring from his head down to his back. It was blood; his blood._

_His sight was slightly impaired by the hit as he saw Dragonite fly behind him heading towards the opposite corner of the room._

"_Did…Dragonite…attack…me?"_

_Gary could not understand why. He knew Pokémon tend to be jealous of their trainers but his and her Pokémon had trained very close to either trainer. There was no reason why Dragonite would believe he was placing Misty in further danger._

_Gary laid down Misty as he turned around, ready to defend himself from Dragonite when he saw the Pokémon flying back to wall and hitting it, falling to the floor unconscious. "What the fuck?"_

_Gary looked to the other side of the room and saw a standing Butch with an Electabuzz of his own. Gary recalled Dragonite before he spoke._

"_You've got to be kidding me. There are greater things right now than stealing Pokémon."_

_Butch chuckled. "I didn't come here to steal Pokémon, Oak. I'm here to kill her."_

_Gary's eyes opened wide to the amusement of the Rocket in front of him. Butch's voice was angry and aggressive. He did not seem like the silly regular member of Team Rocket who had tried to steal Gary's Pokémon in more than one occasion. "What?"_

"_I was given an order to get rid of the redhead. I lost my partner because of her. Now you'll lose yours."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_Cassidy…is dead…she killed her!"_

"_Who did?"_

"_The stupid bitch you were carrying!"_

"_Misty would never…"_

"_She did. And now is payback time."_

"_Butch, we need to get out of…" Gary tried to reason with the Rocket member but it was useless. Butch had already ordered his Electabuzz to attack Gary and stomp over him and Misty. The Pokémon tried to push Gary out of his way to attack Misty, but Gary fell to the floor and placed his body between Electabuzz and the Waterflower sister. Gary felt the pressure of Electabuzz' feet on his back as he tried miserably to protect Misty's body by using his own to shield her._

_Butch walked towards Gary and began kicking him to force him to move from top of Misty. Gary tried to call a Pokémon but every time he tried to reach over the pokebelt he was hit even harder by Butch. Gary began coughing up blood as Butch hit his face with his foot._

"_Why don't you just give up, kid? The League wants you dead too. Just make it easier on me, will ya?"_

"_Who…sent…you?"_

_Butch snickered and kicked him again. Gary could not help to whimper. "Who…sent…you?!"_

"_Does it matter? It's just one more person that wants you dead. You sure know how to piss off people, Oak."_

"_Answer me!"_

_Butch growled in desperation with Gary's stubbornness. He grabbed Gary by his back and pushed him out of the room, leaving Misty helpless with Electabuzz as he did as he wanted with her. Gary tried to run back to the room but Butch began punching him on the face and stomach. Gary did not think he could take more pain. The Pokémon underneath them were now tired and their efforts had begun decreasing as it showed on the fire increasing in strength again._

"_Gary Oak; the prodigious kid; Mr. Have-it-all, where is your glory now?"_

_Gary stood up and held his weight against the wall that led to where the stairs should have been but had been consumed by the fire. Gary took deep breaths to ease the pain, but with bigger breaths only meant more smoke in his lungs. _

"_What did we ever do to you?"_

"_I'm just doing a job, it's not my vengeance."_

"_Then why…are you doing it?"_

"_Personally, I don't like you."_

"_Then leave Misty alone."_

"_Oh, she's part of the bargain. It's either both or none. Besides, I had fun…with her…right before you came…"_

_Gary's eyes opened wide. He felt the pain of the smoke in his lungs being replaced by the pain of deep anger. His fists trembled and his knuckles cracked. He reached over the Pokémon belts and recalled all the Pokémon that were trying to stop the fire. Half of the Gym had burned down anyway._

"_Giving up, Oak?"_

_Gary did not speak._

_Butch began walking to him, describing how it had been with her. Gary's anger only rose. "She's pretty good. The exercise helps her a lot for this. But of course, you know that already, don't you?"_

_Gary began walking towards Butch. He had never wanted to hurt anyone as much as he wanted to hurt Butch at the moment, not even that Jake kid._

_Butch stopped in front of Gary. Gary eyed him until he saw Electabuzz come out from the room. Electabuzz growled and Butch called him back. "Seems the job is done. Now it's just you and me."_

"_You wish."_

_Butch smiled as he tried to hit Gary on his face again, but he dodged it. Gary grabbed Butch's fist and did something he never thought he would do. Gary extended Butch's arm with one hand, and then used his closed fist of his other hand to bend Butch's elbow the wrong way in a swift movement that broke Butch's arm. Butch cried in pain seeing his arm bend the wrong way and hang limp in two parts. Butch got down on his knees and held his broke arm to try and easy the pain. Now that the Pokémon were gone, the last part of the Gym was crumbling down. Gary walked next to Butch and headed to the room to check up on Misty; she was still alive, though extremely bruised by Electabuzz' merciless attacks._

_Gary picked her up in his arms as he turned around and saw Butch standing up but still crying. "The building will collapse any minute now. We have to get out. You can either stay there or follow me out of here."_

"_What the fuck are you talking about? How are you gonna get down anyway? The stairs are gone! Besides, I am dead either way if I don't complete the job."_

"_Gyrados!"_

_Gyrados came out from Misty's pokebelt. It roared and made Butch take a few steps back. The pain in his arm was extreme, and he could not think of anything else to do. He watched as Gary carried Misty and held her tight before ordering Gyrados to get them out of there. "I need you to take us down and make a hole on the wall so we can escape."_

_Gyrados nodded and used his strength to make a hole on the wall before using his body as a makeshift stairs for Gary and Misty. Butch stood up there for a few seconds before walking as he followed Gary, standing right next to him. "It's burning down there," Butch said as he looked down. "Tell me how hell looks like in a dream."_

"_What?"_

_In a seemingly swift movement –but what seemed like slow motion to Gary, Butch pushed Gary off the top floor, down to the burning first floor. Gary grabbed Misty by her waist with his left arm and used his right arm to grab onto Butch's bad arm as he fell. Butch could not help but to give in to the pain and fall right after Gary. Gary let go of Butch and then grabbed on to Gyrados who had moved to catch the trainers. Butch did not make it and fell to his death._

_Gary saw as Butch shook and screamed on the floor as he got engulfed by the fire. Gary closed his eyes and asked Gyrados to take them out to safety. Gyrados did as told and then was called back by Gary. _

"_Look! It's Gary Oak!"_

_Gary saw the officers and paramedics run to him as he fell on the grass outside the Gym, passing out immediately after but still holding on to Misty for dear life._

Gary opened his eyes. He sighed as he closed the bag and turned around to look at Misty on the bed. She had been asleep for days now. Lt. Surge had offered him and Misty any room in the house. However, Gary had wanted to stay in the same room as Misty in case she woke up. He did not want her to wake up to a lonely and strange room. She was under the covers, with her feet aiming towards the door. He had shielded her from the window, and her face did not get struck by the sun as the shadow that the window cast on the side ended exactly below her chin. The twin-sized bed was pushed against a corner, and the sun rays bathed the lower part of her body to keep her warm.

He slowly walked towards her and sat next to her on the bed. He sat on her right side, but opposite to her to see her face. He lifted his right hand and caressed her left cheek as he then slowly rested his entire upper body on hers.

"Red, I need you. I don't think I can do this alone any longer."

Nothing.

Gary sighed and felt the weight of the world rest on his back. It made him feel extremely heavy as his arms held her sides and he dug his face on her stomach. "Please, Misty. I need you so much."

Gary felt the weight get even heavier to the point of pushing his face deeper into her body, hindering his breathing but not enough to make him want to pull away. He needed this contact; he craved it. Even though the temperature outside was around the low 40's, Gary felt nothing but warmth that emanated from her body; her battered and poorly fed body.

Her lips had completely healed by now, and the bruise on her eye had diminished to just a light purple color around the bottom of her eye. Her scratches and bruises were slowly disappearing, and her wrists were completely healed by now.

Yet, Gary knew that the worst pain was yet to come. He could only imagine what had transpired inside the Gym when he was gone. He knew Misty was strong and would defend herself by any means to save her own life, but he also knew that four people were just too many for her to handle on her own.

The sun now hit Gary's back and provided him with pleasant warmth that only the rays of the mighty sun can give you. Suddenly, the weight of the world was lifted from his back and was now pulling him by his shoulders. He allowed the "weight" to guide him to wherever it wanted, that was until the "weight" called his name.

"Gary…"

Gary furrowed. When did the weight of the world develop a voice of its own?

He opened his eyes and looked in front of him. He encountered a pair of blue-green eyes staring right back at his brown ones. The weight of the world surely looked a heck lot like Misty.

_"Misty?"_

Gary's eyes widened at the realization. Misty was awake. Misty was awake and staring right at him.

"Misty…"

"Gary…is it really you?"

Gary sighed and nodded, small tears forming in his eyes. He straightened out his body and then pulled hers to his. He embraced her with all his might and she welcomed every bit of it. She returned the embrace with almost the same strength as his, and rested her face on his shoulder.

"The hug hurts a little. I'm guessing I didn't die?"

Gary laughed. "Nope, you didn't."

The embrace lasted a long time as Gary asked repeatedly if she felt alright and Misty assured him that she did.

"What took you so long to wake up on me?"

"So long? What day is today?"

Gary pulled away from the hug and kicked himself mentally for not allowing Misty to speak first as Bryan had suggested. There was no turning back now.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

Misty furrowed as she tried really hard to go back in time and find and answer to Gary's question. She remembered arguing with Gary before he left the Gym, but she also remembered how she had decided to follow him as soon as her sisters returned. Her head began to hurt and she flinched. She held her head with her hands and Gary began to worry.

"It's ok; you don't have to remember right now."

But it was too late. Her mind was racing with dozens of scenes forming her head one after the other after the other.

"You left…I went to my room…intruders…Team Rocket…the alarm went off…I ran…they hit me…"

"Misty, stop. Don't overexert yourself. You just woke up."

"We fought…the Pokémon, fire…Butch…"

"Misty…"

"No…Butch…"

Misty pushed Gary away to examine her own body. She took her trembling hand to her eye and slowly touched it as it still stung to contact. She then touched her lips and they felt dry, the skin around them was still very sensitive. "He kissed me…"

"Misty, don't think about it, ok?"

Gary knew where Misty was going to with all this. Her reaction and face was of someone who just remembered something that should have never happened to them.

She turned over her hands to look at her palms. Small cuts were now healing on them, and her wrists hurt a little. Her arms had small bruises and cuts as well. She then grabbed the edge of the covers and pulled off her. She looked at her lower body but she was covered by a pair of pants. She pushed Gary off the bed and pulled down the pants, not caring if he stared or not.

"I...I wasn't wearing these clothes."

Her uncovered legs showed a few signs of struggle, especially around her thighs, but these signs were slowly fading away. She looked down at her body and suddenly felt _dirty_.

"Butch…he…he…"

Misty could not finish her sentence. Gary looked at her, not knowing whether to approach her or not. "Where…where's the shower around here…"

Gary pointed to the opposite corner of the room. Misty shook as she walked to the place Gary had pointed at. She opened the door and headed to the shower. She clumsily opened the curtain and allowed the hot water to run in the shower. She began sobbing and grabbing her body as she entered the tub and stood under the running water, not even bothering to take off her clothes.

Gary stood at the door, not understanding what she was about to do. Was she going to kill herself? Was she going to take a…shower?

Misty's sobs became even louder as she began hitting the walls around her. Gary took small steps as he approached her. He did not want to startle her, but he also did not want her to think she was alone. He was afraid that what Butch had told him was true, but he was more afraid that Misty still remembered the incident as well as she seemed she did.

"He…God, he…"

Gary suffered with her. He knew he would never be able to feel what she felt, but he also knew that what she felt was one of the worst pains in the world for a woman. Misty began slowly sliding down to the floor of the bath tub and stayed there, water pouring down her back. "Gary…he…how could he?"

Gary's heart melted. He walked towards the bath and stood in front of Misty, outside of the tub. He looked down at her as he turned off the shower before slowly kneeling next to her. She continued to sob and hug herself, her head hanging and her honor ripped to pieces.

Gary leaned forward and carefully rested his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. Her tears were merged with the water on her body, and her wet hair covered most of her face. He gave her a weak smile and pressed lightly on her shoulders as a sign of support.

"He might have taken something away from you body, but he didn't take away who you are, or what you're worth."

Misty continued to sob as Gary removed the strands of hair from her face. He then pulled a towel and wrapped it around her body. He lifted her up and guided her as she walked out of the tub. She felt weak and tired even though she had been sleeping for more than a week now. She knew that it was more emotional drainage than anything physical injury she might have had.

"Gary, how long have I been out of it?"

"A week…and one day."

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Butch."

"He's dead."

Misty sobbed. "He won't even pay for his crime."

"He will...in hell."

Gary helped Misty dry herself and provided her with clean, warm clothes. She folded them and placed them on her bed as she dried her hair. She then sat on her bed and stared at the floor. "Where are we?"

"Vermillion City."

Misty looked up at him. "What are we doing here? Where are my sisters?"

Gary's head hung in shame. How was he supposed to break all the information to her? She had just woken up from a nightmare to fall into an even worse reality.

"Why don't you shower first? Get dressed, we'll eat and I'll tell you everything while we are at it."

"You promise you won't lie anymore?"

Gary's heart skipped a beat. Lying was what had gotten them here in the first place. He would never ever lie again; especially not her. He walked towards her and saw her eyes filling with tears again. "I promise I won't lie anymore if you promise you will come out of that shower alive."

Misty began crying again. She knew that he knew she felt like less than shit at the moment. And he also knew that the post-rape depression could literally kill her. He needed to make sure she knew she was still valuable to someone; show her someone still cared for her.

He took the towel from her as he pulled her closer to him. She stared at his chest, afraid to look up at him. He placed his left hand on the back of her neck and lifted her chin with his right hand. She slowly but willingly allowed his hand to guide her and stared at his eyes.

"I won't ever do anything to hurt you. I _care_ for you, Misty. More than I ever cared for anyone else in my life."

Misty's tears were back. This time there was no water to camouflage them and they ran freely down her cheeks. Gary held Misty's face in between his hands and lowered his head to hers so their foreheads met.

"I know it hurts. I can't ask you not to cry, but I can ask you to be strong. I'm not leaving you, ever again. I'd rather…"

"Gary…"

"Yes?"

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Gary was taken aback. He pulled himself away from her to be able to see her in the eye. He tried to look for a hint of humor in her eyes, but he found none.

"Misty, if you knew everything that has happened in the past 8 days, you'd know that what I say is true."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"How can you promise something like that?"

"Because I'd never let anything happen to the woman I love."

It was Misty's heart's turn to melt. She had promised herself she would never love again. She had promised herself not to ever fall into the trap again. But staring at Gary's eyes and listening to the sound of his voice made her break all her promises. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him so badly.

"How can you say that, Gary? You don't even know me."

"The same way I know that you love me."

Misty closed her eyes. "I do."

Gary could not help to smile. She did not have a clue of how much he loved her, and what he would do for her. "Then let's not say anything else. I'll make dinner and I'll meet you downstairs. Lt. Surge will be joining us."

"Ok."

Misty gave Gary one last hug before locking herself in the bathroom. Gary's smiled widened at the realization that Misty was going to be ok, and that she loved him like he loved her. Her confession gave him a new ray of hope; a reason to continue fighting. He was going to fight for her, with her, so they could end up together and finally be happy.

He exited the room and headed downstairs. He ran to the kitchen and began making his specialty: lasagna. It was a special occasion, and he knew Misty would be starving. The last time she was fed was intravenously, and that had been two days ago. Gary turned on the television to listen to the news. He wanted to know what else had the League come up with in the past couple of days.

_"Good evening, Vermillion! This is Mike Keeler, reporting live from the headquarters of channel 54. Today has been an eventful day in Kanto, and we'll start with our major headline. Joining us is Lisa Smith, reporting live from Indigo Plateau, home of the Pokémon League."_

The screen changed to a scene of a meeting room in Indigo Plateau. Gary studied the people in the screen and saw some very familiar faces: Maya, Lance, Agatha, Bruno, Lorelei, Koga, Dawn, Ash, and Professor Oak.

The look on Professor Oak's face was painful to see. His head hung and his stare was glued to the table in front of him. Maya was at the front. As if on cue, Maya took out a piece of paper and began to talk.

_"The Pokémon League of the region of Kanto has delegated for quite some time about the several issues that are taking place in our association. The members present: Lance, Agatha, Lorelei, Bruno, Koga, Professor Oak, Dawn, Ash, and myself, have agreed that the current issues surrounding our associations are a cause for impending loss of credibility of our mission and vision, as well as reason to take extreme measures for a good cause._

_We have come to the realization that if these extreme measures are not taken seriously as soon as they take effect, the purity of the mission and vision of our organization will cease to exist. This will in turn destroy the spirit and hard work of thousands of members around the region, and will place a dark mark on the quality of Kanto's trainers all around the world. We hereby present the following actions to be placed in effect at the end of this meeting:_

_Gary Oak and Misty Waterflower will be formally charged with the accusations imposed by the law. These two former members will be exposed to the full penalty of the law and shall receive no aid from the League as they have given up their positions and status when they chose to break the law._

_The Pokémon that belonged to these two former members will now become possession of the Pokémon League itself as they are registered under our name. These two former members have shown a lack of qualification to take care of other living beings, and will in turn resign their Pokémon to Ash Ketchum and Dawn Hall._

_The Pokémon Gym in Cerulean will no longer exist, and shall not be reconstructed. The Waterflower family has failed to keep their end of the bargain in the probationary period of their term, and their permission to keep and maintain an official Pokémon Gym will be revoked._

_The Waterflower sisters, excluding the temporary Gym Leader, will be charged for fraud and break of a legal contract. The three older sisters, Daisy, Lily and Violet will be kept in house arrest in our facilities in Indigo Plateau. They will be judged and charged some time this coming week._

_Anyone who tries to aid these two former members of the Pokémon League will be subject to charges of aiding outlaws escape, aiding in avoiding the law, and will be trialed as accomplices. Becca Gall, Bryan Gall, Jennifer "Copycat" Lee, and Britt Edwards have already been charged._

_The Pokémon Gyms will not hold any battles until these issues are completely resolved and the two former members are in the custody of the law and are charged with the crimes they have committed._

_At the end of this ordeal, a new Gym will be constructed in Lavender Town to replace the Gym in Cerulean City._

_Professor Samuel Oak will be placed in house-arrest here in Indigo Plateau as a means to force submission of Gary Oak, and for the relation between him and Gary Oak._

Gary stopped what he was doing and stared at the television. He could not believe they were going to arrest his grandfather. Granted he had given him the money to get out of Cerulean, he had no involvement with what the League had done to Gary, or what Gary was trying to do to the League. "This is bullshit!"

Gary also knew that the League knew how much he cared for his foster parent. However, if he turned himself in, not only would he fall into the League's trap, but he would lose any opportunity to clear up this mess. If he went jail, everyone who had helped him get this far would have sacrificed themselves for nothing. He needed to keep a leveled head and work as fast as possible to get all of them out of jail, free of any guilt. If he lost his cool, the League would get the best of him.

Gary watched the television a little longer but when the news anchor switched to other local news, he turned it off and continued what he was doing. A few minutes later, Lt. Surge showed up and sat on the kitchen table. "Oak, that smells great. What is that?"

"Lasagna, sir."

"Where did you get it?"

"Made it myself."

"Ha! Who knew you had hidden talents outside research!"

Gary chuckled. "I've got good news, sir. Misty…"

"…is awake," a voice coming from the stairs said.

Both men looked up and stared at her. She was wearing a light blue long-sleeved turtleneck, blue-jeans, and black boots. Her hair was neatly brushed and almost completely dried, held in a ponytail. Her left bang covered half of her forehead and fell down her face up to her chin. Around her waist she wore her pokebelt.

Lt. Surge stood up and picked up Misty with a huge embrace. "I'm glad you are alright, ma'am. Oak here was worried sick."

Gary smiled shyly as he took out the lasagna out of the oven and began serving them. Misty smiled at Lt. Surge and returned the embrace. "I've taken too much of a break, haven't I?"

Lt. Surge laughed. "You probably needed that break."

"Perhaps, but now I'm very hungry."

"Glad to hear that, Red. I made lasagna for dinner."

Misty smiled as she and Lt. Surge sat down. Gary finished serving the pieces and sat down next to Misty. They all began eating as Misty spoke.

"Gary, you need to tell me what is going on."

Gary swallowed hard and took a sip of his drink. This was going to be difficult to do. "Where do I start?"

Lt. Surge stared at the both of them while he continued to eat as if he was about to witness some sort of show.

"The last thing I remember is you coming back to the Gym to get me out."

Gary nodded and began to speak. "Ok, then. I don't know how to tell you all this, so I'll just spit it out, ok?"

Misty nodded.

"The Gym…burned down; all of it. The Pokémon…died in there. The firefighters couldn't save anyone."

Misty's eyes began filling up with tears as she covered her mouth with her hand. "All of them? What about Team Rocket?"

Lt. Surge raised his eyebrows. "What does Team Rocket have to do with anything?"

"Team Rocket started the fire."

"Thought so," Gary said. "Jessie, Cassidy and Butch didn't make it. James was taken to a hospital in Cerulean. He's still there."

"How do you know?"

"Because when I went back to save you, there were two burned women on the ground. Butch…well…you know what happened to him. The officers told me they had taken one man to the hospital. Jesse would never leave James' side. Besides, I confirmed it when I heard it in the radio coming here."

Lt. Surge stopped eating and pointed his fork at Gary as he spoke. "But, wait. Let me get this straight. Team Rocket broke in to the Gym, and set the fire. Why are you guys being blamed for it?"

Misty started at Lt. Surge and then at Gary. "_We_ are being blamed for the fire?"

Gary nodded and sighed. "The League is charging us with arson, Team Rocket and the Pokémon's deaths, fraud, conspiracy, broken contract, having an affair, and…running away from the law."

"WHAT?!" Misty yelled as she rose from her chair.

"Misty, calm down."

"How _can_ I?"

"Look, this is what we'll do. We'll get to the bottom of this and we'll clear our names."

"But…Gary…all those charges…"

"Are false. We'll just have to prove them."

Misty sat down and stared at her still full plate. The lasagna was good but it seemed like she was going to get sick to her stomach.

"Where are my sisters?"

"Indigo Plateau…house-arrest. So is my gramps."

"PROFESSOR OAK?" It was Lt. Surge time to yell.

Gary flinched and wished everyone would stop yelling at him.

"Yes, the League is using him to force me to turn in. But I won't. Not until I can fix all of this."

"But, Gary…your grandfather."

"He'll be alright. So will your sisters."

Misty sighed. "I don't see how we can fix this. No one will believe me that Team Rocket set the fire."

"They have to, Misty. Team Rocket has a bad reputation."

"But they steal Pokémon, and while they were there, they didn't care about the Pokémon. They were there to…get rid of me."

Lt. Surge took another bite of the lasagna. "Why do you think that?"

"They told me."

"Misty, tell me what happened inside the fire before I got there. I need to know."

Misty nodded and took a deep breath. It was too soon to relive the events that occurred inside the Pokémon Gym, but she knew that if they wanted to get out of this mess, they had to share all the information they knew.

"After you left, I made my bags to follow you. I was waiting for my sisters to arrive so I could leave the Gym. I went downstairs to set the alarm and that was when I saw them."

"Team Rocket?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"I told them they couldn't take my Pokémon. I ran to the system and activated it so the Pokémon would be secured. Team Rocket began to follow me, so I ran upstairs."

_Misty looked behind her shoulder for a few seconds and saw the four members of Team Rocket quickly approaching her. She knew her Pokémon were safe, but to keep the safe she had to lock herself inside the gym with the intruders. She ran towards the stairs that would lead her to the office so she could look herself inside there, but Cassidy caught up with her._

_Cassidy grabbed Misty's ankle and pulled her down. Misty tripped and rolled down the stairs for a second time in her home. She ended up face down at the bottom of the stairs. Jessie, James, and Butch stood in front of her. Cassidy stood behind her, on the stairs._

_"What do you want from me?"_

_"Somebody asked us to do a little favor," Butch said._

_"Asked? More like PAID," Cassidy said._

_"Whatever it is, you aren't gonna get away with it! My sisters will be here any moment!"_

_The Rockets laughed. "Your sisters? Please! They are still very much buried in paperwork in Indigo Plateau," Cassidy said._

_"How…how do you know?"_

_"We know people."_

_Misty tried to get up but Cassidy used the heel of her boot to kick her back into place. "Where do you think you are going?"_

_"You guys are screwed, there are hidden cameras everywhere. The police will find the tapes and you'll go to prison."_

_The Rockets laughed again. "Are you kiddin' me? Jessie, James, time for your part of the deal."_

_Jessie and James looked at each other both having an uncomfortable look on their faces. Misty lifted her head enough to watch them as they began spreading gasoline around the Gym. "Stop! Please!"_

_Neither of them had the guts to look at her in the eyes. They knew her and her bratty companions for years now. While it was true that they had battled several times, it had never been truly personal. They were Pokémon robbers, and the brats were Pokémon trainers. The last thing Jessie and James were murderers._

_Butch picked up Misty by her hair. She screamed and tried to free herself but Cassidy took out a small knife and pointed it at her stomach. "Scream again and I'll make a bigger hole for you to yell from."_

_Misty gulped. "You made enemies with the wrong people, girl."_

_"What did I…"_

_Misty's question was interrupted by a punch from Butch to her left eye. She felt heat covering her eye and blood dripping down her cheek. She began moaning in pain and Cassidy reacted to this by cutting her stomach, her arms and her legs."_

_"Does it hurt? Do the cuts sting?"_

_Misty could not believe what was happening to her, nor did she understand why it was happening at all. Butch let go of Misty's hair and grabbed her by her wrists, placing enough force on them to make them crack._

_"It hurts, please stop!"_

_"We're getting good money for this. We're gonna do this right."_

_Butch slapped Misty's face as Cassidy continue to make small cuts around Misty's body. Jessie and James tried to ignore what was happening while they finished pouring gasoline inside the entire building. James looked up and his face fell when he saw what Butch and Cassidy were doing to Misty. He knew they had to get rid of her and make it seem like suicide or an accident, but this was too much._

_"Butch, quit it. Let's burn this place and get the hell out of here. It won't matter if you hit her or not."_

_"If it don't matter, then why not have some fun?"_

_James fists trembled. "Stop it, man. That's enough!"_

_Butch's anger rose. He had never liked James, and when he had been told that he had to work with him to do this job, he had not liked the idea one bit. However, the amount of money he had been offered was too much to ignore. Part of the deal was to bring Jessie and James because they knew Misty and had battled her many times before. Whether he liked it or not, Jessie and James had to go with them to Cerulean's Gym._

_Butch eyed Cassidy to tell her it was her turn to have fun with Misty. Cassidy grabbed Misty by the hair and began pulling her up the stairs. "Why don't you show me your room?"_

_Butch walked to James and punched him in the face. "I don't take orders from you! Get it? Now shut the fuck up and do your job!"_

_James hit the floor as Jessie ran behind him. "That wasn't necessary Butch! You jerk!"_

_"Fuck you."_

_Butch turned around to watch as Cassidy had stopped midway on the stairs and was now kicking Misty's head. "I…really…don't…like…girls…like…you…"_

_Misty tried to free herself from her grip but Cassidy's anger was overwhelming. "What did I ever do to you?"_

_"Nothing to me, but Emily Dragon is pissed at you."_

_"Cassidy, shut up!" Butch yelled at her. "Relax, it's not like she's gonna get out of here alive."_

_"Still!"_

_"Whatever, I said it, so what?"_

_"Emily Dragon…" Misty thought as she saw Cassidy and Butch argue back and forth. Jessie and James had begun lighting up the other rooms of the gym. The fire was spreading fast. Misty watched as Butch and Cassidy's argument went on and on. She took this to her advantage and grabbed both of Cassidy's feet, aiming to trip her so she could run away. Cassidy felt the grip on her ankles and tried to free herself. Misty held on to her ankles like glue and tried to get up herself. Cassidy kept pushing her back down with her hands but she was getting tired. Cassidy tried to push down Misty one last time but she lost balance. Misty's lips hit the edge of the step and began bleeding. She let go of Cassidy to clean her mouth at the same moment Cassidy was planning on pulling away from her. Cassidy lost balance completely and flipped over the stair's rail. Misty tried to grab her but she was too late. A loud scream was heard right before a crack and thud sounds. _

_Cassidy had fallen four feet down and had broken her neck. Misty stood up and saw her bleeding from her head. "God…I didn't mean to…"_

"_You bitch!"_

_Misty looked up to see Butch charging at her rather quickly. Misty began running up the stairs as she saw Jessie and James running after him. The fire alarm began going off and the fire was intensifying rapidly. "Butch, we need to get out of here now!"_

"_Shut up! I'm going to kill that bitch first! She killed Cassidy!"_

_Jessie and James looked at where Butch was pointing. They saw a fast-growing pile of blood below Cassidy. "This is not going according to plan," Jessie said._

"_Go get the car, James. I am going to get Misty out of here."_

_Butch had disappeared behind the cloud of smoke. Misty's screams were heard coming from upstairs and Jessie could only imagine what was happening to her. "I don't like the twerp but whatever Butch is doing to her, she doesn't deserve."_

"_Jessie, will you be ok?"_

"'_Course I will! I can kick any guy's ass."_

_James gave Jessie one last hug before disappearing on the back of the Gym. Jessie heard James call out his newly acquired Golem to make a hole on the back of the Gym as she ran upstairs to try and save her oldest female rival._

_Jessie followed the screams and found the room where they came from. She opened the door just in time to see Butch finishing forcing herself into Misty. Jessie's blood boiled. Like she had said, she didn't like Misty, but that didn't mean Butch could use her like this. "You are such a pig."_

_Butch zipped up his pants before turning to face Jessie. Jessie wasted no time and punched Butch in the face while he was still adjusting his pants. Butch fell to his knees and Jessie took this opportunity to knee him on the stomach. She then turned to Misty who was still in shock. "Twerp, get the fuck out of here before he recovers. Get out!"_

_Misty stared at Jessie with bewildered eyes. Was Jessie helping her?_

_"But Jessie…"_

_"GO!"_

_Misty nodded and ignoring all the pains she was feeling, she clumsily ran to the hall. The stairs were burning by now and there was no way she could use them. The smoke was piercing her lungs and hindering her senses._

_She tried her best to walk to the office. She could use the phone and call the police. The office was a very secure room. Team Rocket –Butch, would not be able to get her in there. _

_Back in the room where Misty had been before, Butch and Jessie were in the middle of a fight. Even though Butch was a man, Jessie knew some moves to keep herself protected. Yet, she was getting tired and the smoke was not helping her keep her guard up. If she was correct, James should be outside with the car by now. She had to get out of the room soon._

_"Emily Dragon is not going to be happy when she sees you betrayed her. She doesn't stand traitors."_

_"I couldn't care less."_

_"Then you as good dead as alive," Butch said as he took out a knife and threw it directly at Jessie. Jessie was no expecting this attack and was not able to dodge it. The knife dug into her leg. "Aaaahhh!!!"_

_Jessie fell to the floor in pain. Butch slowly approached her and pulled the knife from her leg, only to dig it in her stomach once, twice, and a couple of more times._

_James walked inside the Gym just in time to hear Jessie scream. He stood at the entrance lobby of the Gym to listen more carefully and find out where Jessie was. The stairs were practically gone by now. James screamed her name._

_As he tried to pay attention to the screams that kept getting softer and softer, he did not pay attention to his surroundings and a piece of wood fell from the ceiling, knocking him unconscious. His last words before he passed out were words of regret for what they had done._

_After Butch made sure Jessie had enough holes in her stomach to survive, he pulled her out the room and threw her to the fire. Jessie was already dead._

_He saw Misty dragging herself on the floor. She was too weak to keep fighting. Butch smiled as he slowly approached her, the knife still in his hands. "Hey, kitty, kitty, kitty."_

_Misty heard him and tried to push herself up from the floor but she was too hurt and tired. She felt her luck run out. "You're gonna pay for what you did to my friend."_

_Misty mumbled that she had not meant for her to die, but Butch did not listen. He stopped in front of Misty and picked her up from the floor. "A little birdie told me you have a secure room here. You and me are gonna have some fun in it."_

_"No…"_

_Butch placed Misty on his shoulder and walked to the room as easily as if he knew where everything was in this house. He lifted Misty's hand and placed her fingertip on the detector. The door opened and they both went in. Misty regretted not bringing her Pokémon with her and leaving them in the hall where she thought they would be safe._

Lt. Surge and Gary stared at Misty, who was stroking her pokeballs, as if asking for the Pokémon's forgiveness. She thought she could keep them safe by leaving them under the closet in the hall, and while she was glad they were all alright, the Pokémon in the Gym were not as lucky.

"Misty, James is alive. He can confess what he saw."

Misty shook her head. "He is a criminal. No one will believe him."

Gary growled. He could not believe what the Rockets had put Misty through. "Misty…"

"Yeah…"

"Jake worked for Emily Dragon too," Gary said.

"Jake…Jake Dragon!" Misty said.

Lt. Surge furrowed.

"How do you know?" Misty asked.

"I had an encounter with him when I left the Gym. He stole my bags and the documents I was going to give to the League."

Lt. Surge continued to furrow and look at both trainers with an angry face.

"Do you know who Emily Dragon is?"

"I've seen her name. She battled my sister around the same time you battled her; she was in the wall of fame." Misty said.

"I knew it! I remember now! I saw Jake Dragon's file before I left. He gave two references," Gary said.

"Emily Dragon," Misty said.

"And Dawn Hall," Gary said.

Lt. Surge stared at Gary. "Dawn Hall? Maya's Dawn Hall?"

"Yes."

"We need to find out more."

Lt. Surge nodded as he pointed to the window. "But first you need to get out of Kanto. It's night. The boat is waiting for you."


	5. Pokemon Master

**Summary of previous chapter:** Misty and Gary made it to Vermillion City, where Lt. Surge helped them find a place to stay, and a way to get to Cinnabar Island. Misty finally woke up and told Gary what had happened inside the Gym before it burned down. Misty told Gary that the Rockets had mentioned something about a person named Emily Dragon, and that she remembered her name from the battle paperwork. Gary tells Misty that she had also sent Jake Dragon, and that Jake Dragon knows Dawn Hall.

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 5: Pokémon Master**

Cinnabar Island was only six hours away from the port in Vermillion. Misty and Gary had traveled for four hours already, trying to catch a nap every now and then. Even though it was the middle of the night, and no one would suspect Lt. Surge's private boat wandering the seas, the feeling of despair still surrounded the two young trainers. The feeling of being watched was in the air, and Misty felt a few times during the night that it had been much easier to remain asleep until they reached their final destination.

Apparently, the League had found out that Professor Oak had given Gary money to get out of Cerulean, so the League had him placed in house-arrest for this. The entire police force of Kanto had been placed on high alert to catch the now official criminals. Becca and Bryan had been questioned several occasions about where Gary planned to take Misty, but they had remained silent. Jen and Britt had been questioned too, but not even the constant hitting of the Pokémon League's police was strong enough to make either of them speak.

Misty and Gary had spent the first couple of hours inside the single room of the boat, discussing and exchanging information. Gary told Misty of all the adventures they encountered while she was still asleep. He told her about being in the hospital, and how Becca and Bryan had gotten them out, taken them to Bill's house in a car Ash had rented for them. He told her that Professor Oak had given them enough money to survive for a few months. He also mentioned the sacrifice Becca and Bryan had to pay for aiding them escape, and how Britt, Jen, and possibly Nurse Joy of Saffron had to pay it as well. Misty had been very surprised when Gary had said that Ash had rented the car Becca and Bryan had used to help them escape from the hospital, and tried her best hide her hope that Ash still cared for her.

Then again, she also could not stop herself from opening her heart to Gary and thank him for everything he had done. He had gone through so much to save her these past days, weeks, and even months. She felt like a total idiot about giving him such a hard time about the badge; it had been her sister's idea anyway. Moreover, even if he could have rejected the badge, she now understood that he was but a young kid who was competing against his old childhood rival. Either of them could have done the unthinkable to watch the other lose.

Misty had been outside the room, staring at the stars. Her mind wandered and she reminisced about the time she had travel these same roads with Ash. In fact, her first kiss with Ash had been aboard the S.S. Anne. He had invited her to a cruise inside the insanely famous boat, and she had happily accepted. It was their first _official_ date in which neither Brock nor any of their loyal Pokémon had joined. Misty could not help a little bit of nostalgia remembering these moments. She knew that Ash would always have a piece of her heart, as he had been her first love.

_"Had been?"_ Misty asked herself, wondering about her choice of words. _"Is that what Ash is to me? A had been first love?"_

Misty looked down at the sea as she reflected about the meaning of the thoughts in her mind. Could it be possible that Ash was history? Could it be that someone else had won over her heart? On the other hand, was it just a cruel illusion caused by the long distance between them, and the situation she was encountering? Would her feelings come back the instant she lost herself in Ash's eyes? Would she forget about these feelings of closure once Ash stroked her face once again?

However, the here and now was a completely different story. She had months of slow bonding and memorable moments spent with Gary that covered her body like a warm blanket. She did not feel the chill factor brought by the wind in the middle of the sea, at the middle of the night. Thinking about Gary made her body tingle. Thinking about the kiss they shared at the Gym made her lips want more. To top off her feelings, his words back at Lt. Surge's home kept repeating over and over in her head: _"I won't ever do anything to hurt you. I care for you, Misty. More than I ever cared for anyone else in my life."_

And the moment they had shared before she showered and he made dinner was the ultimate proof that she had indeed move on from Ash's world:

_"Misty, if you knew everything that has happened in the past 8 days, you'd know that what I say is true."_

_"Is it?"_

_"Yes."_

_"How can you promise something like that?"_

_"Because I'd never let anything happen to the woman I love."_

_It was the turn of Misty's heart to melt. She had promised herself she would never love again. She had promised herself not to ever fall into the trap again. Yet staring at Gary's eyes and listening to the sound of his voice made her break all her promises. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him so badly._

_"How can you say that, Gary? You don't even know me."_

_"The same way I know that you love me."_

_Misty closed her eyes. "I do."_

If only they could have sealed those words with a kiss. Misty's fingers went to her lips. Misty's mind still wondered if she had developed feelings for Gary because of what he had done to saver her, and if these feelings she felt were nothing more than a result of pity for the person. However, her hear knew that she had started feeling butterflies in her stomach whenever she was near him way before the drama they were in. She remember an uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty when he had her had met in the famous hill in Pallet Town and he had stolen a kiss from her. It was in fact the night Ash has asked her to start dating; Gary Oak had excellent timing for situations like these.

She had brushed off that feeling of uncertainty as just of a feeling of utter surprise. Receiving a kiss from the famous Gary Oak was something other girls had only dreamt. She had not been expecting it at all, and she swore the second of warmth in her heart had only been one of a lovely surprise that is not necessarily unwelcome, but new as this has been her first kiss ever.

And to think that Gary Oak had taken it away from her! She had never mentioned this to Ash, and while she had strongly believed she had not mentioned it because she did not want to cause even worse rivalry among the two friends, she now started to wonder if the true reason why she had never brought it up before to her former boyfriend was because she had enjoyed the kiss and had save it as one of the most important moments of her life.

Then again, she never thought about Gary after that, and she never compared his one time kiss to the hundreds of kisses she received from Ash. The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. It was obvious that complete closure was imminent, and that her heart was more than ready to belong to Gary Oak: The one and only Gary Oak that had been standing right behind her this whole time without saying a word.

He had woken up a few minutes after she had, but had been hesitant to speak to her. He knew that the amount of information they had shared in the past days was very overwhelming, and that perhaps staring at him would only make it worse. He knew that in the eyes of the law he had done many, many, many things wrong so far. Yet, he also knew that in the judging eyes of those who knew him, and in her eyes –the only judging eyes that mattered to him, he had done nothing than to protect the woman he had fallen in love with. He smiled as he remembered her confession of love back in Vermillion, and his hands ached to touch her. She was so close to him, yet so far as well, just as she had been when he went to pick her up from the hospital after Jake's little murder attempt.

The only difference now was that back then, she had been very quiet and he had pretended to be upset to keep the distance between them as he had decided to leave her side forever. This moment was different; he wanted to turn her around, wrap her in his arms and kiss her. _Really_ kiss her.

Misty took a deep breath and turned around only to find the eyes that had stared at her every single day for the past six months. "Gary…"

Gary took a step closer, she did not move or stopped staring at his eyes. This was it, the moment she had been waiting for since she realized her love for him: No more stolen kisses, no more interrupted moments, no one near to get in the way. This was their moment, and no one in the world, not the sea, or the Indigo Plateau police, or Emily or Jake Dragon, or even the unrest memory of Ash Ketchum in the back of her mind was going to get in their way.

Gary took another step and felt her body brush against him. There were no words. Nothing needed to be said. Their body language was doing all the talking. His arms around her waist did the invitation; her arms around his neck accepted it. The tilting of their heads towards the other's face made the final arrangements, and the lips on the other closed the deal.

Gary and Misty spent the final hour of their trip learning every single part of their bodies inside the only room in the boat until the memories of Butch's encounter made her stop.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The lighthouse in Cinnabar Island showed Gary and Misty the final road to travel. Neither of them had been in Cinnabar Island in a long, long time. The last time they had seen this island, there was not really much to see or do. The only attractions were the Pokémon Gym, the Pokémon Mansion, the Research Lab, and the volcano. Both trainers were happy to see that some things never did really change. They were both glad to realize that there was but one lonely soul waiting for them in the dock: Cinnabar Island Pokémon Gym Leader and the Riddle Master, Blaine.

Blaine had not changed much other than the obvious irreversible damage that was caused by aging. He was still as skinny and bald as ever, but his face was even more wrinkled than before. They had to give the Gym Leader some credit; it had been 10 years since they first met. Time waits for no one, not even for one of the most famous Gym Leaders in Kanto.

Blaine smiled as he saw the two trainers wave at him from the boat. Gary ran to the back of the boat and began reducing the speed of the boat. Misty held onto the fence of the boat as she gave Blaine her widest and most honest smile. Blaine returned the favor as he remember how this woman, when just a little twelve year-old, solved all of his riddles with no difficulty at all.

_"She was good!"_

As the boat approached the dock and slowed down until a complete stop, the light of the small lamps around the dock illuminated Misty's face. Blaine felt a bucket of cold, cold water hit his back. Even though the injuries were almost gone, he could see in her face the damage caused by the fire. He could not believe someone who had been so hurt still had the will to smile.

Before they had arrived, Lt. Surge had called Blaine to tell him about what Misty had said about Team Rocket attacking her Gym. He knew as well as anyone that the Rockets were everything but murderers. He could only imagine what four of them had done to her alone. Blaine shook these thoughts away from his head and decided to focus on providing his guests with the best attention possible. He could tell these kids had suffered too much pain.

Gary turned off the boat and did not waste time to gather their luggage. Misty ran towards Gary as they both exited the deck into the dock. They both ran to where Blaine was standing as if their life depended on it. They were so glad to see they had made it safely to Blaine's home.

"I can't believe that is you kids! You make an old man like me feel young!"

Misty giggled. "And you make us feel like we've got a lot to learn!"

Blaine chuckled. "Indeed, you do."

"We're sorry it was so short notice, Blaine. I owe you so much."

"Nonsense, Oak! You saved my Magmar when everyone else said he couldn't be saved. You two know very well that our starter Pokémon is who made us who we are. I couldn't lose him just like that!"

_"Ash knows that better than all of us,"_ Misty thought.

"Anyway, I'm sure you kids are starving! Let's go home."

Both young trainers nodded and followed Blaine. He took them through some hidden caves and tunnels to make it to the Gym that hid under the volcano. Misty remembered the path as if she had crossed it yesterday. This had been the most intense battle that Ash had in his entire starting career. She was not about to forget the ordeal.

The three of them silently made it to the entrance of his home. Blaine locked the door behind them and turned on all the lights with pressing only one switch. The home side of the Gym look like it had been recently renovated. The place looked like a home, more than ever. The cabinets were made out of thick and dark brown wood. The kitchen counter was an elegant black color which matched the state-of-the-art kitchen appliances. The floors were made out of wood, and the furniture and decorations around the first floor of the Cinnabar Pokémon Gym mansion looked as expensive as the ones found in Gary's home. Blaine had really kept himself busy in the past few months. The home of the Riddler was as welcoming and elegant as the owner himself.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Misty said.

"Thank you. After I heard you two kids were renovating the Cerulean Gym I thought I couldn't stay behind. It's not as nice as your Gym looks…"

"Looked," Misty said, looking at the floor to hide the sadness in her voice.

There was a moment of silent that invaded the room. Blaine walked towards Misty and placed his left hand on her right shoulder. "Don't worry about it, lady! You'll rebuild that Gym and it will be better than ever."

"The League won't allow another gym to be built in Cerulean." Gary said as he remembered the verdict of the Pokémon League. Blaine furrowed. "I heard that too, but those people won't be in power forever. Lance is running out of patience, I'll have you know."

"I'm not saying that the changes haven't brought more prestige to the League, but…it's just that…"

Gary placed his right hand on Misty's lower back. "Look, Red. After the League finds out what hell of a mistake they've made with us, they'll build the Gym for us in no time."

"I guess…"

"And if not, maybe we'll start our own League…only hot girls and cheerleaders allowed!"

Misty rolled her eyes and could not help to chuckle. "Wouldn't you like that, Gary?"

"Well, it wouldn't be the worst thing, if you ask me."

Blaine shook his head. "You haven't changed one bit, have you, Oak?"

Gary winked at Blaine before placing a hand on his own stomach. "What's for dinner, Blaine?"

"Don't you mean breakfast?"

"It's still food!"

Blaine smiled as he invited the two guests to follow him to the second level of his home. He showed them the guest rooms and allowed them to choose whichever they wanted. Gary wanted to stay in the same room as Misty, and deep inside Misty wanted it too. However, they both knew that no one could find out what has happening between the two of them, at least not now. They knew that they first had to get out of the deep shit they were in before they could even settle the question of them and where they wanted to take their newly found relationship.

If only Blaine knew what the two of them had done before they arrived to Cinnabar, not much doubt would be left in the accusation that Misty and Gary were romantically involved. Yet, they also knew that it has not been as intense as it was now when they were still under the League's contract. Technically, they had not broken any laws, but they could not prove otherwise so soon.

Gary and Misty choose their rooms and made themselves comfortable. Blaine told them to shower while he prepared a big, nice breakfast for them. They both complied without much protest. They were tired, and they felt like they needed a shower and some food before they took a long nap. Gary had told Misty that they would not stay in Cinnabar for more than a couple of days. She did not know where he was taking her, but she knew that she would follow him wherever he would go.

After about half an hour after they had chosen their rooms, two very refreshed trainers joined Blaine in the kitchen. He had just finished preparing breakfast when they stepped on the dinning room. The food smelled great, and they could not be more grateful for Blaine's hospitality. Misty was happy to know that not everyone in the League thought the worst of them both.

Gary's eyes widened at the sight of food. Blaine had made scramble eggs, scrambled eggs with cheese, scrambled eggs with meat, sunny-side up eggs, bacon, French toast, regular toast, hash browns, honey ham, sausage links, biscuits, and had placed three pitchers with milk, juice, and coffee respectively.

"Who said guys can't cook, uh?"

Misty shook her head. "Not me!"

All of three of them sat down and began slowly enjoying the morning banquet in front of them. Gary was so happy he could have nice, warm, delicious coffee in his hands. He had not had time to have fancy coffee in days, and the ones he got at the gas station while driving to Saffron did not count.

Misty had been asleep too long and had almost forgotten the taste of a good, homemade meal. She had no idea how she had survived eight days with no real food in her system. She was very glad she could finally sit down and enjoy great food.

Blaine was just happy to be around humans again! Once the League started raising the bar for trainers, less and less of them began reaching his Gym. The League had established an order to follow to defeat the Kanto Gyms, and his Gym was the very last one to defeat. Many trainers had been stuck in Cerulean and in Saffron, and the more time that passed, the fewer trainers made it all the way to his Gym. To top it off, the League had decided to stop all official battling until Misty and Gary turned themselves in and they were behind bars. He was very happy that Misty and Gary were there; not only would hey keep him company for a few days, but he would also find out their side of the whole ordeal.

"Good?"

"It's delicious, Blaine. So very good."

"Thank you! It's been a while since I had a reason to cook like this. You kids are going to get fat by being here."

"Misty needs to eat a lot; she was unconscious for eight days…lotsa foods to catch up with."

"Eight days?"

"Yes, eight days."

Blaine's face changed to one of seriousness. Both trainers felt a little uncomfortable with his sudden change of expression. They knew what was coming.  
"So, what happened to you?"

Both trainers sighed but did not stop eating. They knew this question was going to be asked to them many, many times until their names were cleaned. They might as well get used to the feeling of doubt that surrounded them.

"Where do we start?"

"The beginning, I guess."

"Ok…well…my sisters got called by the Pokémon League…the new people on top didn't like the reputation the gym had…"

"Yes, Maya is very strict. She came a long way to be a trainer. She started her Pokémon training very late in life." Blaine said.

"I know my sisters had it coming, but they got me involved in it. They wanted me to take over the Gym while they were out training in Indigo Plateau. I couldn't say no to them! We were about to lose our home."

"I understand."

"Anyway, the Gym needed a lot of repairs…and I'm so glad the League sent Gary to me. I'd never have done everything the League wanted from me all alone."

"I know. The League sent me an auditor too. He was called back right after the League stopped official battling. I am all alone again."

"Who was your auditor?" Gary asked.

"His name is Tracie, he is well-known Pokémon investigator. He's a good kid."

"I think I've heard of him," Gary said.

"How did Ash take the news, Misty?"

Misty lowered her head. "We really didn't have to make a decision. Ash had been called to work for the League, with Maya, and I had to go back to Cerulean. We had to break up."

"Well, he achieved his dream. Ash is now the Pokémon Master."

Both trainers looked up and stared at Blaine. Gary knew that Ash would win the tournament, but hearing that his old rival had achieved Pokémon Master Status before him still surprised him. Not bad for a kid who woke up late on his very first day as a Pokémon trainer.

"Ash…he made it? He's the Pokémon Master?"

Blaine nodded. "Yup, took over just a few days ago."

Misty could not help to smile. "I can't believe it! He finally made it! I'm so proud of him!"

"I don't care if he is the Pokémon Master…I'll still kick his ass," Gary said.

Blaine chuckled. "Sure, if you can even get to him. He's got his private office in the same hall as Maya. Only she and his fiancée Dawn can get near him."

Misty froze. "Fiancée?"

Blaine hit himself mentally. He did not know if there was something between Gary and Misty, but he surely knew that not too long ago, there _had_ been something between Misty and Ash. "Sorry…I wasn't thinking."

Misty shook her head. "it's ok…Ash's gonna be a…father now…I was expecting it anytime soon."

Gary felt a little bit of jealousy creeping up to him. He knew that Misty felt something for the playboy, but he also believed that he would never be so lucky as to have her feel love for him with the same intensity she once loved Ash. This was something he had made his peace with, but seeing her and listening to her pained voice as she spoke about him made him hurt.

_"Will I ever make her as happy as he did?"_

Another moment of silent invaded the room as Misty regained composure as she avoided tears coming down from her eyes. She took a big sip of her orange juice before clearing her throat and continuing her story.

"Anyway, we were alright until two people tried to kill me."

"I heard. Josh Weston and Jake Dragon."

Misty nodded.

"Then the Rockets too. We know who is trying to kill me, but we don't know where to find her."

"Her?"

Misty nodded again. "Jake Dragon told Gary that some person named Emily Dragon was trying to get rid of me. The Rockets also mentioned her, saying that she wanted to get even with me."

"Do you know her, Misty?"

"I don't know her per se. I remember he name being in the Wall of Fame of Cerulean Gym. I remember reading her battling profile. I thought her last name was funny and that is why I remembered her."

"I don't know her either, but as I was filling out the battle files for Jake, I found out that he had placed her as one of her references. I asked him if they were related and he said no."

"He lied," Blaine said.

Both Misty and Gary stared at him again. Did Blaine know him at all?

"That little prick…I never liked him…"

"Do…do you know him?"

"Of course I know him. And Emily Dragon _is_ his sister. She just never liked him because she had to take care of him."

"But, how do you know this?"

Blaine took a sip of his coffee and stared at Misty as he spoke. "The Dragons competed against the Waterflowers to earn the right to lead the Cerulean Gym. The Dragons lost and we never heard about them until we found out they died."

"You mean Jake is native of Cerulean?"

"Yes, he and Emily both. Jake grew up to be a jerk despite Emily's efforts. Once he turned 18, Emily left him alone and disappeared. Many said she secluded herself in one of the Orange Islands. We never heard from her ever again."

"Do you think that Jake was the one who had the grudge against me but is using her sister's name?"

"Possibly…the kid was always getting in trouble and causing general mischief everywhere he went. He was expelled from high school in Celadon. He didn't get to graduate from it."

"How do you know all of this?"

"The League has been around for long…and so have I…sooner or later you find out these things by yourself."

"Wait! If Jake is native of Cerulean, how come he went to high school in Celadon?"

"Emily took him there. That was the only place she could afford to live. They had a hard time after their parents died."

"How did they die?  
"Plane crash."

"Same as mine," Misty said.

"I'm not trying to justify him or anything, but losing your parents when you are only a kid can be traumatizing. For a minute the League was worried about you and your sisters too when your parents left you."

"It took all three of my sisters to raise me. I can't imagine what Emily had to go through."

"And my grandpa had to do it alone; me and my sister. Jake gets no sympathy from me. He was lying. We need to find him and make him talk."

"We do…I don't know what his issue is…but we need to find out."

"How are we gonna do that, though. My only contact in Celadon is behind bars."

"Perhaps, but his second reference is free as a bird."

"Who was his second reference?" Blaine asked.

"Dawn Hall."

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Dawn Hall? Maya's Dawn Hall?"

Misty nodded. "How does Dawn Hall know a jerk like Jake Dragon?"

"Only one way to find out."

The three of them nodded and remained silent as they finished their food. As soon as they were done, Gary asked Blaine if he could use one of his computers. Blaine showed him to the office as Misty stayed behind to help Blaine wash the dishes. After walking down a long hall and entering an electronically locked door, Blaine asked Gary if something had been left out from Misty's story. Gary sighed and nodded. "One of the Rockets raped her, Blaine. It was in her medical record that I took from the hospital, and she remembers it too."

Blaine's face became red as his own suit. His fists clenched and shook in anger. How could Jake Dragon set up all this for her? What for? He had to help them find the truth, even if it meant he would end up behind bars in a cell right next to old Professor Oak.

"What can I do for you?"

"Give me a couple of hours. I need to do something using your computer. Can I ask you one final favor before we leave tomorrow?"  
"Tomorrow? Why so soon?"

"Because after I ask you for this one last favor, we need to be far away as possible from Kanto."

"Anything, Gary. Just tell me what you need."

Gary nodded, incredibly thankful for having one last person give him a helping hand. He knew he needed all the help that he could get. In only a couple of days they would both be as far away from Kanto as they could without being discovered. One final favor needed to be asked from someone else in an Island far, far, far away. Gary was not going to take any chances. They had made it this far. He could not afford to let her down.

"I need you to deliver a letter for me, Blaine."

"Sure, who is the recipient?"

"The Pokémon Master at Indigo Plateau."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ash Ketchum yawned for the fifteenth time in five minutes. He had not gotten one blink of sleep the night before as Dawn had spent the night throwing up caterpies. She was barely three months pregnant but her morning sickness had become night sickness and it had gotten worse and worse. The doctors said it was normal, but that she was making it worse with her caffeine, alcohol and nicotine withdrawals. Once she found out she was pregnant she had to quit drinking and smoking. She knew it was for her baby's own good, but she felt like an addict who had been suddenly cut off her drug without further notice.

Ash had stopped smoking too, but it was not much of an issue for him. He had not started smoking until Dawn had peer pressured him, but he had not gotten addicted to it quite as easily as she had. He was not going to lie and say that he did not crave one every now and then, especially when he had to listen to the issues Misty and Gary had gotten themselves into, but a small patch of nicotine would make it all better for him in an instant.

As a Pokémon Master, his main duty was to battle the trainers who managed to defeat the Elite Four; however, the League had stopped any official battling, burying him in tons of paperwork. He had been catching up with old battling files that the Gym Leaders had begun sending almost seven months ago that Maya had not gotten around checking. She had been so overwhelmed trying to keep the League together and lowering the bad reputation it was quickly gaining, she hardly had time to eat.

Ash walked inside his office and locked himself inside. He knew Dawn would be asleep for a while, recovering from the long sleepless night they both had. His plan was to fall asleep in his office as well, for at least a couple of hours. He could not work on a tired mind. He sat on his chair as he shuffled papers out of his way to make room for the pillow he hid in one of his bottom drawers. This was not the first time he slept in the job, and it was most certainly the least guilty he felt from all those times.

He looked at the papers as he divided them in several stacks by Pokémon Gym. His secretary received the papers all together but did not organize them for him. She would just drop them on his desk and leave, leaving him with doing all the secretarial work she should have done. He could not blame her though; she was an old woman who had only kept this job because it would be too cruel for the League to let her go.

_"She'd probably die if she was outta of a job."_ Ash thought.

He had quickly gotten used to this routine even though he was not very fond of it. All his life he thought he would be sitting in a room, waiting for trainers to come and try to defeat him, one after the other, perhaps, for the rest of his life.

Yet, here he was with a name on his door that said "Pokémon Master," and had not battled one single trainer since he began his period in office. _"This is so boring."_

Moments like this made him wonder if leaving his trainer life to be in Indigo Plateau were worth it. Leaving behind his chance to move around freely, visiting home whenever he wanted, and traveling with his friend and former girlfriend, doing what he wanted whenever he wanted. When he left Pallet Town that faithful night, he believed he had only left his childhood behind. Now he saw how much more he had left behind –lost, when he decided to say goodbye. He missed Brock's cooking. He missed Pikachu's energy. He missed Misty's company, and her love.

Perhaps if he had brought Misty with him, the office part of the job would not seem so dull. He had finally after more than ten years achieved his life goal. However, achieving his dream had cost him his friends, his love, and his bachelor life. He was now engaged to Dawn. He never saw himself marrying her, but he owed her the responsibility, and for once in his life, he was going to act like a real man instead of running away from his actions as he had done before.

His sorting picked up some speed as he reached half of the stack. His eyes focused directly on the section of the paper where the Gym's name was listed. He wanted to finish this as soon as possible so he could take a nap. He knew that the legal issues the League was encountering now would provide him with plenty of time to catch up with paperwork, especially now that Gyms were not operating. He knew that he would reach a point where all documentation would be sent to him, and after that he could come up with a better system to keep records of all the Pokémon battles in Kanto.

_"We need to start making all of this online, seriously."_

He saw the last quarter of papers on his desk and he sped up even more. His hands moved as a machine that knows exactly what do and when to do it. His eyes shifted from the Gym's name to the stack where the paper belonged. He used both of his hands to finish the process even faster, and after a few more minutes he was done.

Or so he thought.

After the last piece of paper was placed on its proper stack, Ash's eyes caught a glimpse of what look like a card box envelope. He turned it around and saw his name on the recipient's section, and Blaine from Cinnabar Island on the sender's section.

"A package from Blaine?"

Ash's eyes furrowed at the strange method of communication Blaine had chosen to use. He knew that if Blaine needed something from Ash, a simple phone call would have sufficed. He always kept a private direct line for Pokémon Gym Leader's use. The Gym Leaders were one of his top priorities, and he wanted to be readily available to them at all times.

He carefully opened the envelope only to find another regular unsealed envelope inside. He saw his name had been written on the front side of the envelope but there was no sender's name. "An envelope inside another envelope? That's…clever."

Perhaps the Riddler was trying to play a trick on him, for old times sake. "Very funny, Blaine."

Ash turned over the envelope and took out the sheets of paper inside it. He unfolded them and saw the date. The letter had been _typed_ yesterday.

_Hey loser!_

_This is not Blaine speaking, I'll have you know. He is just delivering this for me as a favor. He doesn't know the contents of this letter, so please don't ask him for clarifications. I know you're probably the last person I should contact about our situation, but you're the only one who can help us now. You can choose not to do it, and that's fine. But I beg you to help us…help her…our rivalry shouldn't be a reason for her to be put away for life._

_I don't know how much you believe the League, but I think we've been set up. I didn't take Misty from the hospital with her approval. She was unconscious. She had been until two day ago. She was out cold for eight days, Ash. Team Rocket beat the shit out of her. If you had seen her, you'd known she was telling the truth._

_I'm putting my ass on the line right now by telling you what we know, and letting you make the final decision on what you want to do with the information I'm about t give you. You may want to use this letter against me, and that's ok. We've come to a point in our situation where we have nothing else to lose. She doesn't know I'm doing this. She doesn't know I'm beggin' you for help._

_It all started when Jake Dragon tried to kill Misty in the Gym. I'm sure you remember that. He appeared there with a Pikachu that had an underwater breather. We still don't know how he got his hands on one of those. Those are specially made for the League, particularly the Cerulean Gym. I swear to you we didn't give it to him. Someone else did. Someone who knew about them. Someone inside the League._

_I know it sounds ridiculous, but we've got some names. The day I left the Cerulean Gym I ran into this jerk. We fought and he said that he had been sent by a person named Emily Dragon. All I know is that they are related, and that her family competed against Misty's to take over the Cerulean Gym. No one has heard of Emily Dragon every since, but the Rockets mentioned her too._

_Team Rocket, particularly Jessie, James, Butch and Cassidy, went inside the Gym when I was gone. They attacked her. They are the ones who burned down the Gym, and killed all those Pokémon. Butch even took advantage of Misty. She remembers it well. You may choose not to believe it, but I have attached a copy of her medical records I took from the hospital. Have someone translate them for you. You will find this information at the bottom of the page. _

_Someone is trying to screw us over. And they are winning. We need to find Jake Dragon and find who is he really working for, and if this Emily Dragon person is still alive. I know he lives in Celadon, but I can't go there. Look for his records, he has battling records with you. He listed two references when he filled out the forms. One is Emily Dragon…the other…I leave it to you to find out. It's someone who is very close to you; it will be a real surprise._

_By the time you receive this letter, both Misty and I will be far away from Kanto. Don't try to find us, you won't be able to. But, if you decide to help us, send any and all information to Blaine's place. We'll get it from there. Please don't ask Blaine where we are. He won't tell you for his and your sake. If you don't believe any of this, search for yourself. James is still alive and in the hospital. Ask him._

_I have never begged for anything in my life, but I am beginning you now to help us. If you don't, no one else will. Please, research before you dismiss us. Do it for her, at least; if not for me._

_Gary Oak_

Ash read the handwritten signature of the sender's name. He could not believe it. Gary and Misty were alive and well somewhere. They had made it out of Kanto. She was ok.

Or was she?

Ash re-read the letter a few more times to try to understand the pieces of information Gary had given him. He switched his attention to the attached copy of Misty's medical record. He tried to make sense of the medical terminology used on the document. He could only make out a few words, especially the ones that said "sexually assaulted."

Ash's hands trembled. His tiredness was gone and was replaced with a newfound energy he did not know he had. He folded the letter again, set it aside, and pulled out his laptop. He was going to make some research of his own. If someone had truly set them up, he was going to find out who it had been, and why.

Ash Ketchum spent the rest of his day going through files and files of information that no one else could access but him. He was never so glad to be the Pokémon Master, and his hard work seemed like it would finally pay off.


	6. Two Faced

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 6: Two-Faced**

Ash had just finished putting Dawn to sleep after another midnight sickness situation. He stared intently at her as her eyes drifted off and she was welcomed to dream land. Her midnight sickness had been happening since she was a month and a half pregnant, and even though they had been slowly diminishing, he knew he still had six months to go. He waited until he was sure she was sound asleep before repeating his routine of the past two days: wake up in the middle of the night and lock himself in his office.

After he had received Gary's letter he had not been able to stop looking for information about the names Gary had mentioned. He had confirmed that Jake Dragon's battling sign-up sheet did involve a person named Emily Dragon as one of his references. He had also been surprised to see his fiancée's name listed as one of the references as well. _"How do they know each other?"_ He had wondered for almost 36 hours.

He had wanted to ask her the moment he found out about a possible connection between Dawn and Jake, but he knew that if he brought it up, he would surely look suspicious. She would probably wonder why he wanted to know about it, and probably ask how he knew about their relationship, if any. He still needed more information before starting pointing fingers. He could not leave something so important to luck.

Dawn finally gave in to sleep, and Ash wasted no time to run to his office. He locked himself inside it and opened his laptop. The computer quickly returned to a usable status from hibernating and before he knew it, he was already typing names and looking for addresses and associations. He had found very interesting information that corroborated what Gary had said in his letter, and God only knew how Gary had gotten hold of all the specific details of the life of Jake and Emily Dragon.

Ash, on the other hand, had found out that Jake's parents died when he was seven and Emily was seventeen. They had taken a flight to one of the Orange Islands to fight for another gym but their plane crashed before they even arrived to the place. After the accident, their names were not mentioned again until Misty's parents died exactly two years after their death, and in a similar manner. According to the newspaper article he had found, Misty's parents were to attend a convention in Indigo Plateau. They had decided to take a helicopter rather than a regular plane, and it crashed before it reached the home of the Elite Four.

He was not satisfied with this information, so he dug a little deeper. When Misty and Jake were only two years-old, her parents and Jake's parents had competed to gain control of the Cerulean Gym. The Pokémon League had begun expanding, and a new water-type Pokémon Gym had opened in Cerulean. Among other qualifications, the owners of the Gym had to be natives of Cerulean, and be capable to train water-type Pokémon. Both families had been finalists, but in a twist of faith, Misty's mom defeated Jake's dad. The Waterflower family took over the Cerulean Gym.

The Dragon family had nowhere else to go as they had invested all of their money in training and bettering their Pokémon. They had been sure they would end up in the Gym and when they did not, they went bankrupt and traveled to many different cities, trying to rebuild their lives. They settled in Celadon City where Jake and Emily attended school, and only a few months after this, they were invited to run a Gym in the Orange Islands.

Needless to say, they did not make it.

Misty's parents continued to take over the Gym until their death exactly two years after the Dragons' death. Some people had believed that the Cerulean Gym was cursed, and no one else wanted to take over. The League decided to leave the Gym to the older Waterflower sisters, and they in turn took the responsibility of taking care of their younger sister: Misty Waterflower.

Ash had been able to pull some strings and had found the school records of Jake Dragon. He had also pulled out the names of classmates in the same generation and two names had stood out: Dawn Hall and Becca Gall.

He knew that speaking to Dawn at the moment was not the best thing to do, but he knew that he could pay a visit to Becca Gall in the jail in Celadon City. She had been awaiting trial to be moved to Indigo Plateau's new Pokémon League prison. However, the judges needed Misty and Gary to be taken into custody to begin the trials. While Misty and Gary did not appear or turn themselves in, neither Becca, nor Bryan, Jennifer, Britt, Professor Oak or the Waterflowers sisters could be tried. For their sake and his short time, he hoped that Gary or Misty did not decide to turn themselves in any time soon.

His plans for today were to visit Celadon's county jail and speak to Becca. He would then take a detour and visit Cerulean City to visit James at the hospital. He knew Dawn would be asleep until the middle of the day, and he could use his private jet to easily get to and back from these cities before dinner. If she asked, he knew he only had to say he was paying a visit Gym Leaders to see how they were surviving the battle scarcity. _"She believes everything I say."_

A few weeks after he had found out that he was going to be a dad himself, Ash had decided to make it official for his unborn child. Memories of how his own father had eventually abandoned him and his mom flashed before his eyes. He had never forgiven his father for choosing Pokémon over his own family, and even though he had made a similar decision the last time he left Pallet Town, he was not going to worsen his past mistake.

Needless to say, Dawn had been delighted to become the, back then, future Pokémon Master's wife. Marriage had not been in her plans, but given the current situation, she decided it would be the best thing for her –perhaps not for him, but for her. The wedding was going to be very small, perhaps only ten people, and there was going to be no reception. The wedding was more of a formality than a celebration. The League was breaking down, and she was tired of the side effects of pregnancy. There was nothing much to celebrate in her eyes.

Ash shook his head that had begun wandering as it always did when he was nervous. He jotted down several notes, names and addresses before stuffing down papers in his portfolio. He then picked up his phone and called Celadon's jail. He scheduled a visit with Becca at 7:30 a.m. After this, he called Cerulean's hospital and informed the administrators he would be paying James a visit at around noon. The reasons for his visits were not asked, but the people who took the messages knew that it had to do something with the Pokémon Master's former girlfriend legal status.

He yawned as he turned off his laptop and placed it inside his portfolio. He closed it and took it with him to his room. He carefully made his way around his bedroom trying not to disturb Dawn's sleep, though he knew that she was everything but a light sleeper. He took a quick shower and changed into clothes that were more formal. He was wearing brown khakis, a green shirt and a tie. He then grabbed his dress shoes and portfolio and made his way out of the League's main building. It would take him about two hours to get to Celadon, and it was almost five in the morning. If he wanted to be on time for his scheduled appointment with Becca, he had to leave as soon as possible. In a matter of minutes, Ash Ketchum was aboard his private jet and on his way to Celadon City.

As he stared down to look at the tiny cities, cars and people, he rehearsed his questions to Becca. He did not want to make any suggestions to her as to what he wanted to hear from her. He did not know Becca that well, other than the few times they had met while she was visiting Maya, or during the convention that was held months ago. He did not have anything against her either; otherwise, he would have not rented that car for her and Bryan.

On the other hand, he did not want make the mistake of not asking the right questions. He knew that she had valuable information that only she could provide him. While he did not want to seem desperate, he also did not want to let any piece of information go. He knew that Gary had entrusted him with valuable information that could possibly be the only way to defend themselves and allow for him and Misty to keep their freedom for the rest of their lives.

Ash sighed as he realized where these leads were taking him. He knew that by investigating and interrogating all these people he was jeopardizing his new title. However, after everything had been said and done, he had realized he had not wanted this position as much as he thought. He knew that it was because of what he had left behind and had lost in the name of getting where he was now that made him realize that fame and fortune were not the same as happiness of the heart.

Ash pulled out the papers and decided to arrange them in the order he would need them. He had printed copies of official Pokémon League documents that were marked confidential, as well as printed several pictures and profiles of all the parties involved in what Gary had called a set-up. He knew that everything he had in his possession could get him arrested as removing sensitive materials from the League's ground was a violation of his contract. If Maya knew what he was doing, she would find a place right next to Gary's future jail cell.

As he finished organizing his papers and made sure only the ones he needed for Becca's questioning were at arm's reach, he realized that he had arrived to his destination. He quickly arranged his portfolio to make sure nothing escaped him before standing up and getting off his plane. It had landed on the roof of Celadon's jail. A police officer welcomed Ash and asked him to follow him to the interrogation room. The police officer had assured him that the questioning would take place in a private room that the officers used to question prisoners without incriminating or recording them. Ash could only wish this were true.

Ash followed the officer down the stairs for several floors. They finally entered one of the doors and continued walking down a very bright but filthy and lonely hall. There were several doors surrounding them, but no one exited through these doors while they were around. Ash looked around him and felt sorry for Becca and Bryan being locked up inside a place like this. While the place was decent compared to other jails, the building did not feel like a homey place for him. He could only imagine the frustration both of them were going through by being here with no fault at all.

"Mr. Ketchum, this is as far as I go."

Ash looked up to stare at the officer who extended his hand and gave Ash a card key. "Take this card key with you."

Ash grabbed the card.

"You've got to go inside and go down the hall until you reach the end. Take a left and go down the stairs. You will reach a locked door. This is where you use this card key. Walk inside the room and you will find Ms. Gall inside."

Ash nodded. "Thank you. How much time do I have?"

"As long as you need. I'm sure your visit is very important to the League. Come back out the same way. Someone will be here to make sure Ms. Gall is sent back to her cell once you're gone."

"Thank you."

The officer opened the door for Ash and he went in, following the path he had been told. The conditions of the route he was taking deteriorated with every step he took. There were holes on the floor and stains of what he could only assume were dried-up blood on the walls. He hoped none of these stains belonged to Becca herself. He sped up and found the end of the hall. He turned to his left and saw the stairs were right in front of him. The metal of the steps was rusty and very old. He carefully made his way down, hoping his feet would not end up in the middle of the steps. He made it to the locked door and he did not waste any time to use his key card to open it. He placed his key card back into his pocket and opened the door.

He closed the door behind him as he reached for the lights. The room was completely dark until he was able to find a switch. He flipped it and a single old light turned on in the corner of the room where the entrance was. The light was not enough to illuminate the entire room but it was enough for him to find Becca Gall.

She was sitting on the other side of the cheap table in the middle of the room. There was another chair for Ash's use, which had questionable stains and marks on it. The table had holes and termites were having a feast of it. The room had more stains on the walls and floor. Water dripped from the opposite corner where the light was. There was a smell of rotten flesh that he knew he could stand for only so much time. Becca had not even acknowledged his presence. She was sitting with her head down, her blonde hair covering most of her face. Her hands were handcuffed together, and then handcuffed to the back of the chair. Her feet were handcuffed the same way to the legs of the chair. Her clothes were ripped and dirty. Ash could no help to feel guilty for this.

"Becca, it's me…Ash."

Ash could not tell, but Becca's eyes had been closed until she heard his voice. She had been a guest of this room several times for other members of the League. This was not new to her, but hearing his voice made her nervous to be there. She had trusted Ash before, but now, after all the illegal beating, she did not know who to trust or believe.

Ash watched as she slowly looked up and stared at his eyes as they widened at the sight. She had a big bruise on her cheek, old blood dried on her forehead, and a swollen upper lip. They had just brought her down to this room three days ago to be beaten by the so-called Pokémon League's officers. The evidence of their presence did not have enough time to be erased from her body in only three days. She did not smile nor frown. She kept a straight face and did not say a word.

"My God! What have they done to you?"

Becca did not speak.

"Becca, I…know what happened….how someone is tricking you…all of you."

Becca had heard a similar argument before and did not want to offer any facial expression to him. The Pokémon League's officers had tried to get information of Gary and Misty whereabouts several times using a statement like the one Ash had said. She had refused every time and every time it had earned her a good beating. Never in her life did she think she would hate working for the Pokémon League so very much.

Ash was not sure why Becca was just standing there and not reacting to what he had just said, but he could assume that she was trying to protect herself from another beating like the one she had obviously received recently. "I need you to trust me. I need your help."

Becca stared at the walls. Ash sighed.

"I know it's hard…but look…I need your help so I can help Gary and Misty…if I can help them, I can get everyone out of here."

Nothing. Ash growled. He took a deep breath and asked the almighty for patience. He took out some of his papers and began shuffling through them. This was going to be a difficult conversation if Becca did not want to help.

"Alright, just listen to me, ok? Gary sent me this letter," Ash said as he placed the letter in front of her. "You may read it if you want."

Becca looked down at the letter and saw it was typed. She then looked up at Ash and could not believe he would try to trick her. Anyone could have typed that letter. There was no proof that Gary had written –typed, that. She stared down at the letter again and saw Gary's signature at the end. Ash could have gotten someone to forge Gary's signature. At the moment, no one in the world had a lower opinion of Ash than Becca.

"Don't want to read it? Ok, I'll read it for you."

Ash grabbed the letter and began reading it aloud. Becca never looked at Ash and pretended not to care, but her ears were attentive to what the supposed letter had to say. Once he finished, he waited a few moments to see if Becca had anything to say but when she did not, he continued speaking.

"I did some research, and I found out that Emily Dragon does exist, and that she's related to Jake Dragon. He also knows Dawn Hall. I haven't asked Dawn how he knows her because I don't want her to suspect anything. But I also know that you, Dawn and Jake went to the same high school. Do you know him?"

She did not move at all.

Ash took out pictures of Jake Dragon and placed them in front of her. "This is Jake. You know what Dawn looks like, right? Please, please help me out."

Becca continued to be still.

Ash began becoming frustrated with the lack of cooperation from Becca. He stood up and began walking around the room. "Becca, why aren't you saying anything? I'm not here to hurt you. I want to help you, Gary, Misty, and everyone else who got caught in this shit!"

"If you want to help us, you should go ask Dawn for help."

Ash stopped walking around and sat on the chair again.

"I can't ask Dawn…I don't…trust her that much. Misty is relying on Gary, Gary is relying on me, and I'm relying on you. Please, please…help me to help you.  
Becca's eyes were filled with tears. She began sobbing and Ash could only place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I didn't know you were in these conditions. I'll make sure no one lays a hand on you…I'll have the League officers protect you…"

"Bullshit! The League officer's are the ones doing this to me! Can't you see the League is corrupted? Are you that blind, sitting comfortable in your sweet little office?"

Ash was taken aback. She was right. He had gotten the best out of everyone, and everyone else was getting the short end of the stick. "I didn't know…"

"What? That Misty was beated to a pulp? That she almost died there? Did you think that renting us that car was all you had to do?"

"You think I set you up?"

"I don't…I don't know…I can't trust anyone…"

"Trust me, Becca. Please…trust me…"

Becca continued to sob as her head fell. Sobbing made her swollen lips hurt but she did not care. Ash Ketchum had to witness with his own two eyes the consequences of his selfishness. "If I speak…do you promise to keep me…us…safe…Bryan and me?"

"I promise…I swear on my unborn baby's life."

Becca nodded in compliance. She was not very sure she could trust him or anyone else but Gary himself, but she had nothing else to lose. Ash sat down again and laid out the copies of the information he had found on Jake Dragon.

"Do you remember him from school? It seems he was in your class…"

Becca laughed, dismissing the paper Ash was offering to her. "I don't need that paper. I know Jake Dragon very well…and so does Dawn. They used to date when we were in high school."

"What?"

"Yup. And I'm sure your honey hasn't told you that we used to be best friends…"

"You and Dawn?"

"All three of us…Dawn, Jake and me."

"How come she's never mentioned you?"

Becca smiled. "She wasn't very mature back then. She stopped talking to me when we both applied to Pokémon College. I got in and she didn't…she hated me since then."

"What about Jake?"

"Jake dropped out from high school. He didn't get to graduate. I lost track of him after that…his sister also went MIA."  
"Sister?"

"Yeah, you know…Emily Dragon. She was very quiet…rarely spoke to us when we visited Jake at his house."

"How does Emily know Misty?"

"That, I don't know."

"I found out that Jake and Misty's family battled for the Cerulean Gym."

"Maybe that's how they know each other. However, I don't see why Emily would want to hurt Misty. It must be Jake's idea so he can cover his ass. He's always been a jerk."

"That sounds plausible."

"I can tell you where Jake lives. His sister moved to the Orange Islands and no one heard from her ever again, but Jake still leaves in the same house here in Celadon."  
"Yes!" Ash took out a pen and flipped over the copy of Jake's profile. Becca gave him the address as he jotted it down. "Thank you…you have no idea how much this helps!"

"I think I have an idea."

"Is there anything else I should know about?"

"Yes."

"What is that?"

"Do not trust the League."

Ash nodded as he stood up and placed all his papers inside his portfolio. "I have to go talk to James from Team Rocket."

Becca nodded. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

"I hope I do, so I can get you all out of here."

Ash bowed to Becca as he exited the room. He followed the same path and when he found himself out again he gave the officer a bag with cash. "I will send someone to check-up on her, randomly. If she has any more pieces of her body out of place, you and your station will regret it. Tell the League's officers the Pokémon Master is after their ass."

The officer grabbed the small bag as he nodded. Ash returned the card key to the officer as he made his way to his private jet. He quickly got on it and ordered his pilot to take him to Cerulean's Hospital right away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

James was being held in an isolated room in the very last floor of the hospital. The League's officers were present all around the place, making sure anyone around the area belonged to the floor. The League had marked James as a witness of Misty's insanity and it was not going to let their main witness suffer an accident of any sort. The security in the hospital was very high and everyone had to check-in and check-out. There were cameras everywhere and even doctors and nurses had to be checked on by the officers of the League.

The League's officers closely followed Ash until he reached the door of James' room. He had been waiting for approval for this visit for more than half an hour now. They had given him all kinds of tests to make sure that he was in fact the Pokémon Master himself, and not someone disguised pretending to be him. After their encounter with Copycat in Saffron, the League had been extra precautious and had not taken any more chances. After he had been given clearance, he had been followed around everywhere and had to wait for doors to be unlocked in several ways: keys, card keys, fingerprints, etc. He was glad he was finally stating at the door were James was kept. The officers nodded at him as he opened the door. He walked inside and locked the door behind him. He stood at the entrance and stared at James. The former active member of Team Rocket looked at him before looking down in shame.

Ash left his portfolio on the desk next to the door as he scratched his head and slowly walked around the place. There was a tray of cold food near the window, and several other untouched food trays around the room. He had been told that the patient was unstable and had tried to kill himself in several occasions. He had been advised to keep his distance away from him.

Ash took a good look at James. While the injuries from the fire were quickly disappearing, his face denoted a deeper injury within his mind and soul that no amount of time would completely ever cure. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was dirty and tangled up. He could not tell when was the last time the nurses had attempted to wash him up before they had given up based on his hostile attitude. His clothes were dirty and wrinkled. His eyes stared at the floor as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, twerp. Is she ok?"

Ash looked up and stared at James pained face. While it was true that he and James were not best buddies forever, he had seen James in much better conditions. The two members of Team Rocket had saved his life as many times as they had also tried to steal Pikachu from him. The love-hate relationship that had been established between them and his former group was a weird bond that no one else but them would ever understand.

"She's fine."

"I'm glad."

Regardless of his dreary state, James looked much better than when he was first pulled out of the fire. The firefighters had found him at the entrance of the Gym, surrounded by debris that prevented him from going anywhere. He had spent all this time in the hospital, waiting to know what future had in store for him. Yet, he never though that Ash Ketchum himself would appear in front of him. "I heard 'bout Pikachu…Meowth died too, y'know."

Ash ignored his comment. The last thing he wanted to think about was his lost friend. He returned to the entrance and took a peak outside to see what the officers were up to. He was glad to see they were minding their own business. He grabbed the portfolio from the table and then pulled a chair close to James. He sat on it and placed the portfolio on his lap as he crossed his arms and stared at James.

"We didn't want to do it…"

Ash frowned at James' statement.

"But you still did…"

James nodded and felt shame invade him. There was nothing he could say or do to make it up to Ash. Even if Misty was alive, she could have easily not made it if it had not been for Jessie and him. He did not want to sound as if he was trying to make excuses or justify himself, he just wanted to make sure that Ash knew that it was nothing personal, and that neither of them had wanted to go through with it in the first place.

"We tried to save her…Jessie tried…and she….she…"

James' head fell. Ash could tell that he was trying to hold back the tears. He did not know if Jessie and James were ever an item, but he surely knew that they were really close to each other. "I don't even know how she died…but I know she did…I've heard it…"

Ash nodded. "She was stabbed…she bled to death before she burned."

James could not help to cry, sob, and hit his legs at the same time. He had wanted to believe that she had died a quick and painless death, but he knew that life would have not been so kind. No one had wanted to tell him anything about her until he heard in the news that she, Cassidy and Butch were all dead. He honestly could not care less about Cassidy and Butch, but hearing that Jessie –in a horrible manner nonetheless, had died pained him to no end.

Ash allowed him to mourn a little longer before starting the interrogation he had come for. He cleared his throat to catch James' attention before speaking again. "Why did you change your mind?"

James cleared his throat and wiped his nose with his blanket. He took a deep breath as he wiped his tears with the back of his hands. "We didn't want to do it in the first place…but she told us that if we didn't, she would turn us in to the police…"

"She? Who did?" Ash asked, hoping to hear the name he had longed to hear from him.

"This lady…God…if we hadn't listened to her in the first place…Jessie would still…."

James began sobbing as he had every day since he woke up from the fire. Jessie and James had been long-time partners in crime, and while they were not the best of citizens, they had limited their crimes to Pokémon robbery. The day of the fire in the gym of Cerulean had been their first attempt to end a person's life. They had failed miserably. They had failed and it had cost Jessie her life.

"Sometimes I still hear her…telling me how clumsy I am…"

Ash was mad at him, but he also knew that he regretted everything he had done. While Ash had lost Misty to his own acts, he knew that she was still out there somewhere, alive and well. On the other hand, James had lost Jessie to a greater fate from which there was no return. No matter what James did, Jessie would never return to him. James took deep breaths to stop crying. Crying was not going to get Jessie back.

"Do you know why I'm here?"

James shook his head. "To ask me why we did it, I guess."

Ash nodded. "That's part of it…"

"The boss is very sick…he is dying…this new lady took over…she is very mean…"

"You mean Team Rocket's boss?"

"Yes. He has cancer…he is probably dead by now. I haven't heard from him since that night."

"And?"

"There was this lady…a new member of Team Rocket. She was with the secret forces department of the team. She quickly climbed up and became one of the Boss' favorites. There was a rumor she had killed people before. She rarely spoke of what she did."

"What's her name?"

Ash stared at James, as he looked reluctant to speak her name. The last time her name had been said Jessie had died. He did not want anyone else to die again, but he feared that if he did not tell him the truth, Misty would be the next one to die. If anyone could do anything to help out Misty, it was Ash Ketchum. James knew the pain of losing the person who you care about the most in the world. Ash was not his best friend, but he could not allow him to suffer the same pain.

"She told us her name was Emily Dragon, but she made us call her Boss."

Ash furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why did she send you to kill Misty?"

"She promised us a lot of money and a promotion if we made it seem that she had an accident. She told us that if we didn't, she would turn in the entire organization to the law."

"But she would turn herself in too!"

"No…she's got connections…they would have never touched her."

"Why does she want to kill Misty?"

James shrugged. "I don't know. But she hates her very much. She is ruthless. She even sent her own brother to try and kill her. Kid screwed up, though."

"Jake Dragon."

"Yes."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me?"

"No."

Ash peeked outside and saw the officers still standing right outside the door. He then walked to James and took out a paper and a pen. James reluctantly picked up the pen and wrote on the back of the paper. He folded the paper and gave it to Ash. Ash placed the paper and the pen back in the portfolio before heading to the door and peaking outside again.

"Why are you helping me?"

James' eyes filled with tears once again. "Nothing I can do will bring her back…but I won't let her die in vain."

Ash stared at James in a thankful manner. He then repeated his final question to Becca to James. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yes."

"What is that?"

James hand waved at Ash, asking him to get closer to him. Ash thought about it for a second, fearing for his safety for a few seconds but finally decided to lean. James looked around the room, as if he felt someone invisible was inside. He then placed a hand on Ash' ear before whispering words that sent chills down Ash's spine.

"All of these League officers are members of my team."

"Team Rocket?"

"Yes. She brought them here."

"Emily Dragon?"

"Yes. She works for the League."

Ash sighed as he moved back from James' reach. He bowed to James before heading to the door and returning to Indigo Plateau.


	7. Trovita

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 7: Trovita**

The Gym Leader of Trovita had been friends with Gary for a long, long time. Gary and Rudy had met when they were still young during the last family trip the Oaks had taken. Rudy was not the Gym Leader back then, but it was amazing what building sand castles could do to kids. Rudy's family and Gary's family had been close until Gary's parents died. Rudy and Gary would exchange emails occasionally, but Rudy had not heard from Gary until a few days ago when Blaine sent a letter to the Leader of the Trovita Gym to inform him of their arrival. Gary and Misty had borrowed Blaine's private yacht and had been on the seas for three days. If their calculations were correct, they would arrive at Trovita Island by nightfall. When Misty had asked Gary where they were headed to, she had been quick to cover her surprise when she heard Trovita. Memories of her travels with Ash appeared in her head. She remembered Trovita, she remembered Mahri, and she definitely remembered Rudy.

Misty closed her eyes as she completely relaxed inside the tub. Blaine had suggested she took a few baths in water with regular salt to make the bruises go away faster. She was surprised to see the home remedy work like a charm. It had been almost two weeks since the fire, and the markings of the incident were almost completely gone from her body. Her girly visit of the month had arrived this morning, and she had never been so glad to confirm she was not pregnant. Only a desperate woman would want a child from a Rocket member.

The water was steamy hot and she welcomed every inch of it. Gary had told her about an hour ago that they were located two hours away from Trovita, and while she had nothing against the island or their inhabitants, she was not sure what to expect. It had been a little bit over eight years since her first and only visit to Trovita, and she did not know if Rudy knew she was tagging along with Gary. Gary and Misty had agreed to keep their relationship a secret until the waters were clear, so they had to act as if they were only friends. While this was no problem for either of them, she could not help to remember what had occurred the last time she arrived to Trovita with a boy as friend.

_"Mahri must be sixteen! She's all grown up by now!"_

She wondered if she should tell Gary what had transpired when Ash's journey brought her to Trovita once before, but she did not know how much information was safe to offer. Gary did not seem as the jealous type, and she doubted Rudy had any interest in her anymore after ten years, but she was sure the topic would be brought up at some point. She did not know how long they would stay in Trovita, but she knew that even if it was only for a few hours, either Rudy or Mahri would bring it up.

_"It was a big deal, but it didn't mean much to me. I should definitely tell him."_

Misty smiled at the thought of Gary fuming with jealousy, but she knew that was an impossible scenario. Truth was that Gary had nothing to fear. Whether or not he knew about this was a different story. She sighed when she realized she needed to end her bath. She only had less than an hour to get ready, and she knew they could not waste much time out in the open where they could be seen. The sun was nowhere to be seen anymore, but neither of them wanted to risk being caught. She stood up, grabbed a towel, and allowed the water to begin draining from the tub.

She walked to the mirror and used the back of her hand to clean off some of the steam that had built up on it. She stared at her image and remembered the last time she had taken a steamy bath like this. She had been staring at herself in a mirror back in her home in Cerulean. Her home that was now destroyed. All the effort, time and money that had been invested in the Gym had gone down the drain quicker than the water in the tub. She could not believe that the only inheritance from her parents was now only a memory in the back of her head. Her home and her childhood memories had been literally burned away.

She grabbed the towel and began drying herself up as she tried to replace the sad memories of her burnt home with ideas on how to tell Gary about Rudy. The more she thought about it, the more she hit herself for not telling him days ago when she had found out they were coming here. She had no idea how Gary would take the news, even if nothing ever happened while they stayed in Trovita, but a few days heads up would have not hurt anyone.

_"Maybe just me."_

She quickly got dressed and held her hair in the now classic ponytail that Gary had claimed he loved. She wore a pair of blue jeans, a black turtleneck, black boots and an oversized belt that was held by her hips rather than the jeans. She cleaned the bathroom and made sure everything was left as she had found it before leaving the premises and heading to the room. She picked up all of her belongings from the floor and placed them inside her bag. She repeated the motion for Gary's belongings and brought the two bags with her to the deck. Gary was standing inside the main room where he made sure their destination was still on their track.

He looked at her and stared, waving at her to join him inside. She carried the bags and did as told, dropping the bags at the entrance. She stood behind him and held him by his waist as he maneuvered the yacht to its final destination. "How much longer?"

"'Bout twenty minutes, we should be seeing the lighthouse any time now."

"Okay."

Misty rested her cheek on Gary's back and rocked him side to side. Gary welcomed the contact and smiled as he kept a close eye on the sea. The wind had begun picking up and a storm had been expected to fall on them soon. He was glad they were so close to Trovita and hoped the storm would give them twenty more minutes to arrive into town. "You are gonna love Trovita, it has a nice beach."

"I know. I've been here."

Gary could not help to utter a sound of surprise. Misty saw the opportunity to tell him about her experience in Trovita. It was now or never, and it was better this way because she could not see his face. "Is Rudy still the Gym Leader? Or did Mahri take over?"

Gary felt his curiosity meter go up a notch. He raised an eyebrow but decided to sound as calmed and casual as the playboy always had. "Rudy's still in charge. I've never met Mahri…she was not even born the last time I saw him."

"She's the cutest little girl…or was…she is a teenager now."

"Oh."

Gary remained silent; waiting for Misty to offer the information he so wanted to know. He did not want to sound too intrigued, but the truth was that he really was. He cleared his throat as he checked the time again. Had it really been only thirty seconds since the last time he saw it?

"How long are we staying in Trovita?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"I have some of my sources looking for information based on what we know. As soon as they get back to me, I'll tell you what we'll do next."

"Ok," Misty said cursing his name inside. She knew what he was doing, and he wanted to kick him right there and then. She knew that he knew she was withholding information. As the good ol' Gary Oak he still was, he was playing the same game with her. She knew both of them would not give up without a fight. It was just a matter of who lasted longer or who begged first.

"I wonder if Mahri remembers me."

"I'm sure she does…I mean, it hasn't been long since you last saw her, right?"

Misty smiled. Gary was digging for information. "Well, it doesn't seem as that long, but maybe it has."

Gary cleared his throat again to hide a growl. She was playing hard to get. "Then I guess it depends on the circumstances Mahri met you."

"Very true. She _must_ remember me, then."

_"Dammit!"_ Gary thought. "Why _must_ she remember you? Did you save her life or something?"

"I guess you can say that."

"I'm sure Rudy was very grateful."

"Oh, he _really_ was," Misty said with a hint of intrigue in her voice.

"Of course he was. If someone saved my sister from death I would be very grateful too, especially if she was saved by a pretty h…. –wait, what?"

"What?"

"Did he ask you out?"

Misty cleared her throat as she let go of Gary and walked to the front of the room. Gary stood there as he made sure the boat remained on course. "Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"Did Rudy ask you out?"

"_Technically_, no."

"So what did he _technically_ do then?"

"He…asked me to stay…in Trovita…with him…"

"What?!"

Misty sighed and turned around to face Gary who now had a very unpleasant look on his face. "Come on, Gary. That was years ago! He was just thankful Mahri didn't die."

"Psh, yeah, sure, uh-huh…"

"Gary, that is old news. I said no. I'm here now aren't I?" It seemed Gary _was_ of the jealous type.

"Gary, you aren't mad at me for something that happened when you didn't even live with me, right?"

"Of course not, uh-huh."

"Gary."

"Mmhhh…"

"Gary, stop being a baby and utter complete sentences please!"

"What was that? That you want babies with Rudy?"

"Gary Oak!"

Gary sighed as he looked down at the clock. Trovita was ten minutes away from them. The city lights were visible already. Time sure flew by when you had fun…or were arguing. "Gary, talk to me. Are you mad?"

Gary took a deep breath. He stared at Misty as she walked close to him. She placed her left hand on his right shoulder and used it to rest her weight on it as her right hand touched his left cheek. He did not move closer to her but he did not move away either. He knew that he was being silly, but he wanted to see how much she would do to make him _happy_ again.

"Look, it was when I traveled with Ash. I didn't even know Mahri was his sister. I just saw a little six-year old drowning and did what you'd done as well. Rudy asked me to stay, yes, but I wasn't interested in him. I'm sure he has forgotten it by now, it's been a long, long, long time. Things have changed. We've all changed. We didn't even like each other back then! Will you please let it go?"

Gary looked at her pleading eyes and realized he _was_ being a baby. He offered her a smile and she smiled back, relieved that he had dropped the issue sooner than Ash had. "Are we ok?"

Gary nodded as he let go of the steering wheel. "Looks like we're here."

Misty looked back and saw the lights of Trovita. The lighthouse was the brightest one of all, but the city ones were far more amazing. "I hadn't seen Trovita like this."

"Wish we could be here just to visit. During the summer, they have a festival of lights. It's pretty awesome."

"Well, someday you can bring me here, eh?"

"Sure, if you don't end up living here with Rudy."

"Gary!"

Gary smiled as he began slowing down the yacht. He squinted as he saw two figures waiting at the dock. Misty allowed Gary some space to bring the yacht to a complete stop while she grabbed the bags. She placed her under arm and held Gary's on her other hand while he made sure they did not hit the dock. A few seconds later, Gary and Misty were exiting the yacht and waving at Rudy and a very pretty girl.

Rudy stared at Gary and then moved his attention to the redhead that was with him. He squinted a little and furrowed his eyebrows trying to recognize her. Misty was able to tell he was trying very hard to remember her as they approached them and stood right in front of them. "Hey Rudy! Long time no see, eh?"

Rudy nodded as he introduced Mahri to Gary. Mahri bowed to Gary and then mimicked her brother's look to Misty. "Brother…is that who I think it is?"

"I think so…Misty?"

Misty smiled and nodded. Mahri ran towards her and gave her a big hug that Misty was quick to give back. Rudy smiled at Misty and then turned to Gary. "I didn't know she was coming with you."

"I didn't know you knew her."

"Small world, it seems."

"Very small, if you ask me."

The two men stared at Mahri holding Misty's arm as she pulled her to the road to Trovita's Gym. Rudy gave Misty a pat on the back to welcome her, and both men followed closely behind. Mahri did not let go of Misty until they reached her home and kept talking and talking about everything she had done after Misty had left.

"I've been training a lot, Misty! I'm almost as good as you are!"

"I'm sure you've been training more than I have! You'd probably surpass me by now."

"Never! But we can check later on, right? Would you battle with me?"

Misty gave her a weak smile not truly wanting to battle her. She did not know how strong Mahri was, but she knew she could beat her thanks to Gary's training. She did not want to be the one to disappoint Mahri, to her she still looked six years old. "I don't know about that, Mahri. I don't know how long I'll be here."

"It's not like you have anywhere else to go, right? Those people at the League are giving you a hard time. You can stay forever if you want."

"Mahri! That's so rude!"

"What? It's true! I don't believe them, anyway. And I know you don't believe them either."

Rudy shook his head and gave Misty and apologetic smile. "She might be sixteen, but she still has the brains of a six-year old."

Mahri gasped and gave Rudy her meanest look. "Whatever," she added.

Misty smiled and focused her attention on the road. She wanted to lie down and sleep. Even though the quarters of Blaine's yacht were extremely comfortable, she surely wanted to rest on a bed that did not rock side-to-side. While she was used to the ocean, and working in a water-type Pokémon Gym that required she sustained a battle under water pressure, but she was surely not used to trying to sleep while the room she was in moved around at night.

"Maybe we can battle tomorrow, Mahri. We've been on the road for three days and I haven't gotten a good night sleep."

"Ok, but you promise that we'll battle tomorrow, right?"

"Promise."

"Alright."

Gary stared at the two girls for a while until he felt Rudy's eyes staring at him. Rudy began walking slower as he saw his home a few feet away from them. Mahri pulled Misty and made her run inside the house. Gary saw as Misty and Mahri disappeared inside the house. "I heard you and Misty are in deep shit, Gary."

Gary nodded. "Yeah, I can't thank you enough for letting us stay here. We won't be here for long."

"It don't matter to me, you know that. I'm just worried about you guys. You can't keep running away for the rest of your lives."

"We won't. We just need some time to figure out things. No one believes we were set up, but that is just exactly what happened."

"Set up? By who?"

"That's what we are trying to find out. Like I said, we won't be bothering you for long. We are pretty close to find who is after us."

"Do you have any clues?"

"I do, but I rather not say yet. I've gotten six people behind bars because of me. I don't want to add your name to the list."

"Fair enough. Is there anything I can do to help you out?"

Gary shook his head. "Giving us a place to stay is more than enough."

"Well, if it turns out you need a permanent place to stay my home is your home."

Gary nodded. "Thank you, but I'm hoping we can go back home with a clean slate."

"We all do."

Rudy began walking inside the house as Gary followed closely behind. He looked around the place, making sure no one else had followed them. He was glad to reach the entrance and even gladder when he saw Rudy had the same mechanism in his house that Misty and he had installed in the Cerulean Gym. "Building is secure, good night," a robotic voice said over the speakers.

Gary stared at home side of the Gym and could not help to feel nostalgic about the home he had built in Cerulean. The first thing one could see was the spacious living room. There was a dinning room in the back that was surrounded by a double stairway. The chandelier in the middle of the room illuminated the two sides of the second floor. There were doors that Gary could only assume were bedrooms, and they extended to either side of the house. Come to think about it, the design of Rudy's home very much resembled the design of Misty's home.

"You may choose any room you wish. Feel free to walk around the house. The kitchen is in the back of the dinning room. You guys hungry?"

"I'm not. I'm really tired, though."

"I'll let you get comf…"

Mahri, who was already wearing her pajamas and was running down the hall, interrupted Rudy. Rudy shook his head and yelled at her to stop running. She stuck out her tongue and pulled down her eyes. "I'm sleeping in Misty's room tonight. Good night!"

Mahri disappeared down a door on the left side of the hall as Rudy sighed. "I swear she was easier to handle when she was a little girl."

Gary chuckled and patted his friend on the back. "Wait until you start worrying about boys in her life."

Rudy sighed again. "Oh, shit."

"I'm going to bed."

Gary said goodnight to Rudy and went up the stairs. He then knocked on the door Mahri had gone inside of and said goodnight to the both of them. He went inside a room two doors down from Misty's, and almost immediately fell asleep. Rudy remained in the living room. He sat on his couch and turned on the television. He had been closely following Gary and Misty's ordeal but there had not been any news related to the League in the past three days. He knew that neither Misty nor Gary would never do anything like what the League in Kanto was accusing them of doing, but something in the back of his mind still made him doubt: Yet, not enough to be the one who turned them in to the League.

He sighed and changed the channel to watch Trovita's weather channel. The storm they had forecasted was already making its way to the city. They did not expect much damage but it was going to be a long night of rackety-rack.

Rudy was so into the weather map of Trovita that he did not notice the guests behind the couch. "BOO!"

Rudy jumped from the couch and turned around, his hand quickly heading to his Pokémon belt. He saw a smiling Misty and a giggling Mahri behind him. "What the heck is the matter with you? I've told you not to do that!"

"See, Misty? I told you he was easy to scare."

"We are making dinner, Rudy. Do you want something?"

Rudy could not help to stare at Misty like if it was the first time he saw her. She had grown up a lot more, and her now long hair made her face look even prettier to him. Her curves had become more noticeable since the last time he saw her, and she radiated an aura of maturity that he had not been able to see when they first met. He had though that Misty was attractive back then, but now he was just plain gorgeous to him.

"I'll just join you…Mahri can't cook shit."

"Because you aren't supposed to cook _it_, dumbass."

"Mahri!" Misty began, "That is _not_ a nice thing to say!"

Mahri looked down, ashamed of being scolded by Misty. "I'm sorry."

"That's ok. I just don't want you to hear you talk like that to you brother."

"Ok."

Misty patted Mahri in the back and asked her to lead her to the kitchen. Rudy turned off the television and followed them. The entered the kitchen and Mahri ran to the fridge to take out ham and cheese. She then opened the pantry and got out a loaf of sliced bread. "Do you like sandwiches, Misty?"

Misty nodded. "They taste better when you heat them up, though."

Misty asked her where she could find a pan and began heating it up. She told Mahri she would heat up the ham and the cheese so the cheese would melt on the ham. She grabbed the slices of bread and took them closer to the toaster as she waited for it to heat up. Rudy sat on the table and Mahri did too. Misty kept herself busy cooking a quick meal for the little girl.

"Misty, is Gary your boyfriend?"

Misty chuckled. "Nope, he is just a friend I've known for years."

"Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Not that I know of," Misty replied not bothering to look back, but being able to see Rudy's reaction on the reflection of the stove.

"Is he looking for a girlfriend?"

"Maybe. He is very lonely."

"Do you think he'll want to be my boyfriend?"

"I don't know. He is much older than you are, though. You don't mind dating an old guy like him?"

"Nu-uh, he is cute. A bunch of my friends at school think he is very, very cute."

"Well, if Rudy has no issue, maybe you should ask him out."

"Really?"

"No!" Rudy said.

"Why?"

"NO!" Rudy said, his voice even louder now.

"Please?"

Rudy crossed his arms and glared at Misty. "Don't get ideas in her head, Misty."

"I think those ideas were already in her head."

"Yeah! Wouldn't it be cool? I date Gary and you date my brother!"

Misty chuckled as she finished fixing up the sandwiches and placed them on the table. Rudy stood up and opened the fridge. He pulled out a root bear and an orange-flavored soda. "What do you want, Mist?"

"Water will be just fine."

Rudy closed the fridge and placed the sodas on the table before turning around, opening a cabinet and pulling out a glass. He then walked to the fridge and pressed the glass against the water dispenser. "Ice?"

"No, thanks."

He nodded and finished pouring the water. He placed the glass on Misty's side of the table and joined them for a very late dinner. "This is very good, Misty!"

"Thank you!"

The three of them continued to chow down their food without saying a word until Mahri's cell phone rang. She took it out from her pajama pants and stared at the number. Rudy chewed faster and took a big sip of his root beer to wash down the bite. "Don't tell anyone Gary and Misty are here."

"I won't" Mahri said as she left the room to take the call in the privacy of her room. She waved at Misty before disappearing from sight. Misty continued to eat as she tried to avoid Rudy's stare.

"It's been a long time, Misty."

Misty nodded. "Yeah, so many things have happened since then. I can't believe Mahri is so old now."

"Before we know it, we will both be in our mid-twenties. Sounds about time to start settling down, don't you think?"

Misty took a sip of her water to gain some time to respond. She knew what Rudy had really meant, and she was not ready to deal with this so soon in their visit.

"Not me. I spent the last ten years following around Ash Ketchum. I owe myself time for me."

"What are your plans?"

"Well," she started as she cleaned her mouth with a napkin and began picking up the now empty plates, "Once this mess's cleared up, I'll go to college. I want to be a nurse."

"A Pokémon nurse?"

"No, a regular nurse. I think I'm done with Pokémon."

"It's funny you should say that. I've been thinking about retiring myself too."

_"Shit,"_ Misty thought. "What are your plans?"

"I want to be an engineer. I know I'm too old but there is no rush. Mahri has been training a lot and she is very good. I've thinking of leaving the Gym to her."

"Is that what she wants?"

"I haven't talked about it with her, but she loves training Pokémon and she is very eager to learn every battling skill I have in store. I think she would love the idea."

"Perhaps you should run it by her before you make a decision. I had spent my life in a Pokémon gym and wanted to learn everything, but it took me ten years to realize it was not what I wanted to do."

Rudy stood up and grabbed his plate. He walked towards Misty, who was facing the sink as she washed the dishes. He stood behind her and slid the plate underneath her arm, placing his lips really close to ear. "The offer is still up, y'know?"

Misty ignored his closeness and continued to wash the dishes until she finished. She tried to move away from him by sliding to her left but he placed his arm on her way, forcing her to turn around. She did and was given no time to react to Rudy's action.

He kissed her. Misty slowly pushed him away and looked down as Rudy took a deep breath of exasperation. "You still love Ash."

"No."

"What's stopping you, then?"

"The man I love."

"Who is he?"

"He is asleep by now, I think."

Rudy took a step back and scoffed. "So the League was right. You guys are an item."

"We weren't until now. This ordeal has brought is closer. No one would ever do for me what he has done."

"I would."

Misty gave Rudy an apologetic smile. "Perhaps, but it was him who did it. Not you, or Ash, Gary did."

"I like Gary, he is a nice guy. But how long do you think he can pull this off?"

"Until the end."

"And when will that be? The League won't look for you here in the Orange Islands. Why don't you just stay here, with me?"

"Rudy, please don't do this. I don't want to hurt you again."

"You're hurting me already."

Misty sighed as she placed more distance between them. "I'm sorry."

"Me too."

She nodded and exited the kitchen. She stopped at the entrance of the kitchen and without looking back spoke to Rudy one last time. "I love him, more than I ever loved Ash. And if the end is taking our lives to escape the League, so be it."

She stood there for a couple of more seconds before she picked up her pace and headed to her room without every looking back. Her feelings had overwhelmed her so much that she had not seen Gary sitting on the couch in the living room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mahri stood in front of her Dewgong as Misty stood in front of her shiny Gyrados. Mahri knew she had no chance to defeat her, and had already lost the last two battles. She had insisted on battling the last one, for her pride, but now that she saw the Pokémon that Misty had chosen to use, she regretted her decision.

"Are you sure you want to battle, Mahri? I wont go easy on you."

Mahri gulped but kept a straight face. "Give me your best shot, Misty."

"You asked for it!" Misty said. "Gyrados, hyperbeam!"

Misty wanted to end this battle soon. While she was proud of her Pokémon and wanted to enjoy what she believed would be her last Pokémon battle, the memories battling brought to her were too sad for her. Battling Pokémon had brought her to met Ash, meeting Ash had brought her to loving Ash; loving Ash had brought her where she was.

"Dewgong, swim deep!"

Misty did not have to tell her Pokémon what to do. Misty had trained under Gary, and Gary had stressed the importance of teaching a Pokémon how to self-serve. If it had not been for that, Psyduck would have never been able to escape the fire with the pokebelt and save all of Misty's Pokémon on time.

Regardless of Dewgong's efforts, Gyrados' hyperbeam reached its target. A small wave and a few shocks later, a defeated Dewgong floated on the sea of Trovita. Gary raised his hand and called the battle for Misty. Mahri recalled his Pokémon and sighed.

"I guess I need more practice."

"Or you need to train under Gary. He is a freakin' Pokémon Nazi."

Misty chuckled and Gary frowned. "I'm not a Pokémon Nazi," he muttered.

Two days had passed since their arrival to Trovita, and Misty had battled Mahri at least three times. She had been defeated every single time, but Mahri was as stubborn as Ash Ketchum on a sunny day. Yet, Misty had easily defeated her time, after time, after time.

"I'm ready for a break, Mahri. I'm kinda hungry."

"Oh, alright."

Misty recalled her Pokémon and followed Mahri back home. Rudy and Gary followed closely behind, discussing whether to order pizza or Chinese. "I want pizza, Rudy!"

"We had pizza last time, Mahri!"

"Just one more time…please?"

Rudy rolled his eyes, knowing he could not say no to Mahri's eyes. He stopped at the mailbox and took out his mail. Mahri continued to plead and as soon as they reached the house, he picked up the phone and began dialing the pizza place.

"Hi, this is Rudy. Same as usual, please."

Misty, Gary and Mahri sat on the living room, looking for something to watch on television. Rudy was placed on hold to provide payment information and as he did, he began sorting through his mail.

"Bills, junk, bills, more bills…what is this?"

Rudy dropped the rest of the mail on the table and began walking towards Gary. Gary looked up and saw Rudy was holding an envelope in his hands. He grabbed it and read it. Misty could only see the surprise in his eyes.

"It's from Blaine."

"Open it up!"

Rudy finished giving out the payment information to the pizza place and quickly hung up. Mahri moved closer to Gary so she could see what Gary was seeing. He opened the envelope and saw there was a smaller envelope inside. The envelope inside was addressed to Blaine, but it was sent from Indigo Plateau.

The sender was no one else but Ash "Pokémon Master" Ketchum.

He opened the envelope and took out a small piece of paper. He glanced at it quickly before beginning to read aloud.

_Hey, loser!_

_I don't know where the hell you are, but I hope this letter gets to you. I have no way of finding you, so I asked Blaine to deliver this for me. I have news for you._

_I checked all the names you told me and found exactly what you had found. I found records for Jake going back to his childhood and school years, and it turns out that Becca Gall went to school with the jerk. Dawn did too, but I haven't asked her anything yet; I don't wanna raise suspicion, y'know. Anyway, she told me that Dawn used to date Jake, and she also gave me his address. I haven't talked to him yet, I want him to think he is off the hook. I am sending you his address just in case._

_I also went and spoke to James, and he gave me a lot of information on Emily Dragon. She is the new leader of Team Rocket, but her interest is not the Pokémon black market. I think I know why she is after you, and I would stay hidden if I were you. She is very powerful and can get rid of you in a heart beat. I will take matters into my own hands. Not only because of you, but because it is my duty as the Pokémon Master. She's doing more than cornering you guys. She is fucking up the Pokémon world. Do not, for any reason, let anyone find you. I know where she is, and I am on my way to face her two days from now. I'm sorry I ever doubted you guys. Tell Misty I'm sorry about everything. I played her games, we all did. It is my fault you guys are in so much trouble. If you don't hear from me again…well…good luck._

_If something happens to me before I resolve this, you may find copies of all the information I gathered at my place. I sent it to my mom, and she knows it is for you. See you guys later!_

_Ash Ketchum_

_P.S. By the way, the reason why we couldn't find Emily Dragon's trace was because four years ago she changed her name. She is now known as Ms. Maya Amherst; the President of the Pokémon League._

A thick silence invaded the Pokémon Gym of Trovita. The criminal had been right in front of them all this time. Misty thought things had been nasty. She had no idea how nasty they were about to get.


	8. Betrayal

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 8: Betrayal**

Ash went over his newly found evidence one last time before heading directly to Maya's office to confront her. When James had written to Ash that he could find Emily in Indigo Plateau, he had expected her to be a secretary, or a cleaning lady at the least. He never imagined that Emily was no one other than the President of the Pokémon League. Before he absolutely believed James' claim, Ash had called on some favors and had made sure that Emily Dragon had in fact changed her name to Maya Amherst. Even after he had been confirmed several times that the name change had taken place four years ago, his fear of making a mistake had kept him from challenging her the day he found out this vital piece of information from the former member of Team Rocket.

However, so great was his luck that a final sign fell right on his path, and from the most unexpected source. As he was working late last night, and after waiting for a reply from Gary or Misty in the matter, Dawn woke up in the middle of the night and searched for her husband-to-be. She knew where to find him and she did not waste any time in making her way to his office. She did not even bother to knock on his door, and even though he had been upset when it happened, the results of not knocking had been crucial to finishing the puzzle. Dawn had had the last of piece of it all along.

_Dawn walked in and before Ash could hide his evidence on the table she made her way to his work area. Being pregnant did not slow down Dawn's steps. Ash reacted two seconds too late, and he was not able to hide the picture of Emily Dragon, which the national database had faxed to him earlier that day. Dawn grabbed it and chuckled. "I didn't know you had a thing for Maya, honey."_

_Dawn's comment made Ash jump off his seat. He stared at Dawn, trying to cover the surprise in his eyes. He smiled at her and rolled his eyes, attempting to look nonchalant. "Don't be silly, this ain't a picture of Maya. Maya has blue hair."_

_Dawn rolled her eyes at him and pressed the picture of Emily on his face as she spoke. "Girls dye their hair, dork! This is what Maya looked like before she changed her name."_

_"She changed her name?"_

_"Yup. Her new name is cooler, even though her old last name sounded more Pokémon-Master like."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"We go way back. Her younger brother used to be my friend."_

_Ash held back a scoff when she mentioned the word friend, remembering the real connection Becca had mentioned that existed between Dawn and Jake. "Why did she changer her name?"_

_"I don't know. Probably because her brother is a jerk and gave her a lot of bad reputation. If I had a brother like Jake, I'd change my name too!"_

_"What was her old name?"_

_"Emily Dragon."_

_Ash chuckled, trying to hide his excitement that the information he had found was in fact entirely true. Dawn stared at him, wondering why he had laughed at what she had said. "What's so funny?"_

_"Her last name. Don't tell her I laughed at it, though."_

_"I wont, you aren't even supposed to know. She made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone. She wanted to start her life with a clean slate, you know?"_

_"I understand. My lips are sealed."_

_"So, why do you have a picture of her, anyway?"_

_Ash gulped. He had been so excited to learn that he was closer to the truth than he ever was to have worried to come up with a real excuse of why he was looking at her picture. He sat down and sighed, giving himself some time to think._

_"Work. I've got to match pictures of trainers with their battle claims. New idea from Maya herself."_

_"Ugh, boring!" Dawn said, making a face of disgust. Ash was happy that she had bought his excuse._

_"Tell me about it! It seems like Imma be here for a while. Go to bed, I'll join you in a couple of hours, ok?"_

_"Alright. Don't wake me up."_

_Ash chuckled as she left the room, locking the door behind her. Ash's heartbeat was very fast; he had all the evidence he needed. Tomorrow, or rather in a few hours, he was going to face Maya Amherst, and clear the mess she had placed Gary and Misty on._

Ash opened his eyes as he had not realized he had drifted off in to dream land for a few minutes. Lunch time was around the corner, and he knew this was the perfect time to get some privacy with Maya. Everyone in the building would leave for lunch, and if he timed it right, he knew that he and Maya would be the only ones left in the hall –or the building, for that matter.

He shook his head and rubbed his face with both of his hands. He was so very tired, and so very confused. He could not believe he had been working for the _enemy_ all these months. He had let Maya play him and he had been used to hurt Misty. He wanted to believe that it was all a misunderstanding, and that he was making a huge mistake. He had grown fond of Maya, and if he did not have all of the evidence in his own hands he would have never believed she would be capable of sending Team Rocket to kill Misty.

"What if I'm making a huge mistake?"

He sighed again. If he was making a mistake, Maya would clear it up by firing him for slander and libel. If he was not making a mistake, he would place Gary and Misty one step closer to freedom. Either way he could not just stay where he was and do nothing. Gary and Misty were counting on him. It was now or never.

Ash grabbed all of the documents he had in front of him as he stood up and headed for the door. He looked at his office one last time, knowing that he would probably not return to it anymore. He knew he was throwing his Pokémon Master title away, but it did not matter. Now that he had it, he had realized that he had not wanted it that much to begin with.

"Here goes nothing," he said as he closed the door behind him and walked down three doors to Maya's office. He stood outside for a few seconds and knocked on the door three times. Maya immediately asked him to go inside. He took a deep breath and went inside.

"Hey, Ash," Maya began speaking without looking at him but once when he entered just to acknowledge who it was. She had a pile of paperwork in front of her about the same size as the one Ash had on his own desk. She held a pen on her left hand as she read through the papers and made marks on the pages. "I was about to contact you, did you finish those battle claims from the gyms? We should really finish those before Gyms start battling again."

Ash slowly walked to the seat in front of Maya's desk. He sat down and placed the papers on his lap. He cleared his throat before answering Maya's question. "As a matter of fact, I was working on them. But I found a situation I hadn't encountered before, and I don't know how to go about it."

"What is it?" Maya asked, without looking up again.

"There is this trainer who changed her name. I have a hard time deciding which picture to use for the battle claim." Maya did not look up at him when he mentioned the name change, but she did stop marking the papers. She pretended not to be taken aback and continued to dangle the pen in her hand as if she was reading something she did not understood. "Some of these Gym Leaders have become too comfortable with their jobs." She said as she frowned at the form in front of her. "I have been thinking of replacing some of them. What do you think?"

"I don't know. Some of these people live for their job. If you do, you should have a very clear and justifiable criterion for kicking them out of their homes."

"You know, that's the problem with these leaders. They think they own the Gym. They do not. It is just a workplace like in here. Maybe we should have the trainers live somewhere else instead of the Gym. Have them check-in and check-out."

Silence engulfed the office for a few seconds. Ash allowed Maya to check some more forms. He knew she was trying to deviate from his question, but he was not going to give in.

"So, what do I do with the name changer? She is kinda special. We can't have our records without her."

"Just use whatever picture you have from the past?"

"What about the name?"

"What _about_ the name?"

"Do you want us to call you by Maya Amherst, or by Emily Dragon?"

Maya dropped the pen on the stack of papers. She leaned back on her chair and rubbed her eyes with her hands. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you changed your name. May I ask why?"

Maya remained calmed, her face unchanged, as she tried to read Ash's face. He offered no readable looks either. "I didn't change my name."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I did not. I would appreciate it if you did not accuse of something I did not do."

"But you did." Ash said as he placed a copy of the name change forms in front of her. Maya did not pick them up but she did look at them. She looked up and stared intently at Ash. "Where did you find this?"

"I'm the Pokémon Master. The lives of the trainers are my job. Why did you change your name?"

Maya stood up and began walking around the office. Ash remained sitting down but he followed Maya by turning around on the chair. "I had a goal in mind, just like you did. I couldn't allow a bad relationship to taint my credibility. You, out of all people, should know that, Ash."

Ash flinched. He knew what she was talking about. He had not changed his name, but he had ended all communication with Brock and Misty, believing it was the best option for him as he wanted to achieve his goal. Maya knew she had hit a soft spot. She gave her back to Ash to smile to herself for her small victory. She composed herself and reached for her cabinets on the back of the room. She took out a bottle of wine and a small glass. She filled the glass, turned around and offered it to Ash. When he declined the drink, she shrugged and began taking small sips from the glass.

"Did you really think your brother Jake would give you a bad reputation? I mean, he did try to kill Misty but I don't think anyone would've blamed you for it."

"Jake didn't try to kill anyone. He's just a stupid little jerk."

"That's not what he told me."

Maya stopped drinking. She walked back to her chair and placed the bottle of wine next to her. "I wouldn't believe a word he says. He likes to lie."

"He said you tried to kill Misty. Is that why you changed your name?"

"I –_we_, are like celebrities, Ash. Even if we have no guilt of something our relatives do, fingers are pointed at us. I bet that if your mother did something stupid, people would think less of you."

"They wouldn't think as less of me as if I did something myself."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I spoke to James. He told me everything."

Maya frowned as she took another sip of her drink, this time directly from the bottle. "What _is_ everything?"

"You know what I'm talking about. I know what you're doing to Misty, Emily Dragon."

Maya took another –and this time bigger, mouthful of the wine. She slowly swallowed as she placed the bottle on top of the stack of papers. "What do you want? A raise? A new house for your mother?"

Ash shook his head. "I want to know what the fuck Misty did to you to deserve to die."

Maya chuckled as she made herself comfortable on her leather chair. She cleared her throat and combed her long blue hair with her fingers. "You have no proof I ever did anything to her. She brought this on herself."

It was Ash's time to laugh. "Don't play innocent with me. I know you're the new boss of Team Rocket."

"Nonsense."

Ash slammed the stack of papers on her desk. Though he did not let them go, he went over one by one as proof everything he had to say to her. "Nonsense, really? I'm sure the real police, not your Pokémon police filled with Team Rocket members, would love to know that you sent Jake to kill Misty, and that you gave him that underwater breather for him to use. That everything you have done so far was to push Misty to an inch of her sanity. You blackmailed Gary, you sent Team Rocket to the Cerulean Gym to kill her, killed those Pokémon, it was you all along!"

Maya smiled. Ash grabbed his papers and placed them back on his lap as he stared at her. Her face had changed; she was not Maya Amherst anymore. This was what James was talking about. It was Emily Dragon who was talking now.

"You forgot two more things, dear."

"What would that be?"

"I also killed Misty's parents…and your beloved Pikachu too."

Ash's eyes opened wide. His fists began shaking and his jaw clenched. Emily was amused. "You see…I used to be a trainer like you; full of hopes and dreams. But I wasn't as lucky as you. I had to work for what I have. I earned everything. You, you and your little kids club got everything given to you. You don't know what I had to go through because of brats like you."

Ash remained as calmed as he could. He placed his hands in his pockets and tried to mimic Emily's nonchalant look.

"You don't know what you're talking about. We had to earn it too."

Emily laughed out loud as she hit the desk with her closed fist. Ash slid a few inches away from her desk. He could see she was about to lose control of herself.

"Don't give me that bullshit. You, at least you had it rough, by nature. Your father left you and your mom. It doesn't get any worse than that. Gary, well, his parents died, but he was still rich and with connections. Misty, on the other hand, she had everything. She had everything that should have belonged to me."

"Are you saying she stole it form you?"

"Now you're listening. That little bitch. Her family ruined me."

"They got the Gym fair and square. She didn't steal anything from you!"

"SHUT UP!" Emily screamed. "She…all of them…they mocked me…they mocked us. We should have been the leaders of that Gym. I should be the Gym Leader of Cerulean now! If it wasn't for them, we would have never gone broke, struggling for every meal. Not knowing if we would have a place to stay for the night. They ruined my family. My parents, they would have never died if they had not gotten what belonged to us."

"They won that Gym! I don't see how it's Misty's fault that your parents died."

"But, it is. If we had gotten that Gym, my parents would have never had to fly to the Orange Islands for that job. They would be alive. I wouldn't have had to raise that dumbass Jake."

"You're crazy. You're obviously unstable."

"YOU DON'T KNOW!" Emily screamed again as she threw the bottle of wine to the door, breaking on impact. Ash covered his face from the flying pieces of glass. Emily stood up and began walking around the room. Her eyes were filled with tears but she did not sob. "Do you know how old I was when I started battling?"

"Ten?"

Emily scoffed. "Sure. I was nineteen. Nineteen! I was so much older than all the other trainers. I had to wait because I had a baby to take care off. He was a handful. I was terrible. I didn't get to Cerulean's Gym until I was twenty-two! Twenty-two! Misty is twenty-two right now. She has a Gym, and she has a reputation."

"Reputation that you ruined by tricking her."

"She had it coming, her and her ditzy sisters."

"Why are you blaming Misty for what her parents did?"

"Oh, but it didn't stop there. Her sisters…Daisy…she fucked with me too."

"What did Daisy ever do to you?"

"I remember it very well…I had gotten stuck in Cerulean. I kept losing to those airheads. I was so frustrated. How could they defeat me? Every time I battled, I battled for my parents. I couldn't let the children of the people who ruined my parents beat me. I was defeated by them so many times. One day, I waited for hours in the lobby for them to finish other battles. Everybody that day had gotten a badge from them. I felt it was my lucky day; I was going to move on to the next Gym. It was just me and this other kid. He was wearing a long purple shirt, and had spiked hair."

"Gary?"

Emily nodded. "He was scheduled to go after me. The little runt, he was full of himself. Everyone knows he just got better treatment because he is Professor Oak's grandkid."

"That's not true. Gary's very good at what he does."

"You mean sleeping with Misty? I'm sure he is."

Ash glared at Emily. She enjoyed hitting his soft spot.

"Anyway, Daisy defeated me again. I was so mad. I left the Gym and was heading to the Pokémon Center, but I wanted to watch that brat lose, so I went back inside and I hid behind the bleachers. I saw Gary Oak stand before Daisy Waterflower. I saw when Daisy gave him the Cascade Badge without any battle.

"What?" Ash said, pretending he did not know.

"Daisy said she had a date that night and that she was tired. So she gave Gary the badge for free. Do you think that's fair?"

"Not really."

"Not really? NOT AT ALL!"

"You could've just reported them, you know? You didn't have to go do everything you did!"

"Sure, who would have done anything against Gary Oak? He is such a spoiled brat!"

"He wasn't that famous back then, he was just starting. It was probably his second Gym."

Emily scoffed. "It doesn't matter. His reputation went down the drain, and so did Misty's. Serves them right."

"So, how did you kill her parents?"

"That was easy. They were going to this stupid convention in Indigo Plateau, and the show-offs took a helicopter. They should have checked it before they left, don't you think?"

"And…how did you kill Pikachu?"

Emily laughed. "Killing that rodent was also easy. All I had to do was poison the little guy. I bet you still think that he died because of his old age. It was a struck of luck he decided to help that Pokémon Center. I couldn't believe how lucky I was."

Ash wanted nothing more than to jump over the desk and beat the living shit out of the woman. He could not believe that she had been poisoning his starter Pokémon all this time and he had never noticed. "So, all those times that you sent Pikachu to that Pokémon spa…"

"Exactly! Did you really think I could care about that weak Pokémon? He was so pathetic."

Ash could not contain himself anymore. He stood up and threw whatever he could find to Emily. Unfortunately for her, the first he had found was her telephone that hit her right on her forehead. Emily took both of her hands to her head and moaned in pain. She cursed under her breath and opened a drawer to take out a small mirror. She looked at her forehead and saw blood coming out from her.

"You're an idiot. I was going to let you go free, offer you to be my partner in crime, but look what you just did. Do you really think you're getting out of here with all that information?"

Ash took a few steps away from her, alternating staring at her and the door. He had to get out of there and find a police officer, a _real_ police officer. Emily stared at him and smiled. "You just attacked the Pokémon League President. Do you really think anyone is going to help you now?"

"I've got proof, proof that you are a fraud. I'm turning you in."

"Like anyone will believe a kid like you! I'm the Pokémon League President."

"And I'm the Pokémon Master."

"Yes, the Pokémon Master who threw a telephone at the Pokémon League President."

"The Pokémon League President who is the new boss of Team Rocket."

"Good luck trying to prove that, kid."

"James is all the proof I need."

"The same James that tried to burn down the Cerulean Gym?"

"Under your orders."

"I'm sure the police will believe an ex-Pokémon robber, a kid who got a badge for free, a girl who helped two outlaws escape from a hospital, a girl who has documented mental issues, and the kid who tried to kill the Maya Amherst."

"They believed you were sane, didn't you?"

Emily threw the mirror back inside the drawer, and exchanged it for a small gun. Ash took a deep breath. "Have you heard of self-defense?" He asked.

"No, but I've heard of temporary insanity." She replied.

Emily cocked the gun and aimed it at him. He was standing halfway between the chair and the door. He knew that he would not make it to the door. All he could do for now was stand there.

"Nowhere to run, Pokémon Master?"

"I don't run away from my problems."

"So, leaving Pallet Town without Misty was not running away from your problems?"

"Misty was not a problem."

"Then why did you get rid of her?"

Ash growled. "I made a mistake, that's all. Misty was never a problem for me. She was my friend. She was the woman I loved."

Emily scoffed. "Puh-lease. Love? You kids don't know about love. You don't know what it's to love and to lose. To watch the one you love die."

"I would have if your plan to burn down the Gym with Misty inside it would have worked."

Emily's eyes filled with tears. She began sobbing as she continued to point to the gun at Ash. "But you didn't. I did…I had to watch him die."

"Who?"

"Giovanni. Giovanni was the only one who understood me. He was the only one who ever loved me for me."

"Giovanni? The Gym Leader from Viridian City?"

Maya growled and stomped on the floor with her left foot.

"Stupid kid! I should've known you didn't know about Giovanni's real agenda."

"What are you talking about?"

Emily laughed as she lowered the hand that held the gun. She was no longer pointing it at Ash, but she did not let it go from her hand. "Giovanni was my husband. He was the leader of Team Rocket."

"Giovanni? He would never…he was a Gym Leader!"

Emily giggled. "Did you think I was the one who brought corruption to the League? The League was already corrupted! Giovanni, the Waterflower sisters, Brock Slate…"

Ash took a deep breath, trying to absorb what Emily was saying. Everything he had lived for, everything he had always believed on, it was all a lie. He had devoted half of his life to an association that was lead by traitors, criminals. He had become part of a group of people who worked for a lie.

"All these years…how come no one knew about Giovanni?"

"Because the Rockets don't even know who he is…was…they never saw his face."

"What kind of people work for someone they don't even know?"

"People like me, like Jessie, like James, Cassidy or Butch. People who have nothing in the world. People, who don't have anyone to care for them, people who are not understood by anyone in the world. People who don't have everything given to them like you and your friends."

"We didn't have…."

"SHUT UP!" Emily shouted again, lifting the hand with the gun and pointing it at Ash. "Where is she?"

"What?"

"Where is she? Where are they hiding?"

"I don't know."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

"I DON'T know!"

"You could've never figured this out on your own! They gave you the information, didn't they? Where are they?"

"I told you, I don't k—"

Ash was not able to finish his sentence. He felt a sharp pain go through his right shoulder. At first it felt like something had stung him and had gone right through his body. He then felt an uncomfortable warmth take over him. His muscles were shutting down and before he knew it he was down on his knees. The papers he held fell on the floor. He stared at them as he realized that blood was dripping from him, and staining his evidence.

Emily had shot him.

Ash took quick breaths to try and exhale the pain. He gritted his teeth to stop him from screaming. He never imagined that getting shot would hurt this much.

"I won't ask you again," Emily began, "where…are…they?"

Ash looked up at her. She was standing a few feet away from him, showing no remorse or fear. She cocked her gun again as she stared down at him. Ash coughed up blood and watched as his papers got ruined. He slowly lifted his body and stood up as straight as he could. He did not say anything at all but knew that he could be very well staring at the end of the road for him.

"Is your life worth theirs?"

"Was their mistake worth their lives?"

"Wrong answer." Emily said. She aimed directly at Ash head and fired. Ash closed his eyes and waited for his fate.

_Misty Waterflower sat on the front porch of Ash Ketchum's home, staring at the stars. Stars like this could not be seen in Cerulean. Pallet Town was such a small place that there were only a few homes, and the rest of the area belonged to the Pokémon. She was excited about the events of the day, and how Ash had been so sweet to her for quite some time now. She had seen a side of Ash she never knew existed, and the thought of Ash falling for her after all these years made her heart jump._

_Ash and company had arrived to Pallet Town to visit Ash's mom before they departed to Indigo Plateau again. Ash had a gut feeling that he would win the Pokémon League's Tournament this year. His heart was beating a thousand miles per hour, and his adrenaline was getting the best of him. The trio would be departing to Indigo Plateau tomorrow morning, but Ash kept tossing and turning unable to go to bed._

_After the millionth attempt to fall asleep he decided he needed some warm milk to do the trick. He stood up and headed to the kitchen. He placed a pot on the stove and poured cold milk on it. He raised the heat to a medium level and decided to step outside._

_He was surprised to see his best friend sitting on the porch, staring at the skies. He walked toward her and remained standing behind her. The glow of the moon fell on her face, making it shine like a rare diamond. He smiled as his heart began racing even faster than before. Tomorrow, the most important season of the year for him would begin. Tonight was the perfect time to let his feelings known to her._

_He took small steps as he approached her left side and sat next to her. She turned to face him and gave him that smile he was so familiar with. He smiled back before looking up to the sky. "It's an amazing night, isn't?"_

"_Yes, it is. These are foreign skies to Cerulean."_

"_Pallet Town has the best skies…and the best trainers."_

"_Yeah, I heard Gary is making it big."_

"_Gary is a researcher, not a trainer."_

_Misty giggled. "I know exactly what you meant. I was trying to make a joke."_

"_I didn't find it funny."_

"_Where's Brock?"_

"_Passed out in the couch."_

_Misty nodded. "Why aren't you passed out?"_

"_I could ask you the same thing."_

"_Just thinking."_

"'_Bout what?"_

_Misty could not help to blush as she looked the other way to avoid Ash's stare. She knew it was not a good thing if he found out what was crossing her mind in such a romantic night._

"_Silly things? What's your story?"_

_It was Ash's turn to blush, though he did not look away. "Ash, is everything ok?"_

_Ash shook his head as he grabbed Misty's hands. "I've been meaning to ask you something."_

_Misty was shaking but tried to look as calm as possible. Ash was never this forward and it worried her, scared her, but excited her at the same time. "What is it?"_

"_I…"_

_A Fearrow had flown above them, interrupting his overly rehearsed speech. He sighed and cursed the animal under his breath. Misty did not even bother to stare at the Pokémon. "You were saying?"_

"_Look, Misty. I…I've been wondering…well…y'know…we've been friends…forever…and, uhm…well…I've been thinking, lately…I mean…if you don't want to, that's fine…ok? So…this is it…but if you're not sure I'll be fine…I guess… right?"_

_Misty stared at Ash, hoping a coherent sentence would come out from him but when he did not speak for several seconds she cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Ash. I didn't quite get that."_

_Ash scratched his head. He growled and shook his fist in the air with determination. He closed his eyes as he spoke in a trembling voice. "Will you…would you want to…do you want…to be…my…girl…girlf…girlfriend?"_

_Misty blushed as he saw him blush deeply. "Milk…inside…hot…stove…must…check." Ash stood up and walked inside his home in a robotic manner. Misty was left there amazed and confused. She stood up and decided to give Ash a few minutes to calm himself. She began walking and headed for Pallet Town's favorite hill._

Ash felt the same pressure he had felt before hit his chest. The pressure was followed by warmth and a feeling of despair he had never experienced before. _"So this is what it feels like to die?"_

He wanted to ignore the pain and continue remembering the night he asked Misty to start dating but his mind was so confused that it would not let him focus on that memory. He wanted to place a happy memory in his head to die happily, but there were too many voices in the room to concentrate. The pain had made him close his eyes, and he refused to open them to see his wound. He wanted to remember his body like it had been before Emily had made two holes on it. He wanted to remember Misty with a smile, not a frown. He wanted to die in peace.

"Dawn, what have you done?"

"_Dawn?"_

Ash heard a soft moan of pain followed by a whimper. He recognized those sounds and forced his eyes to open. He saw Emily stare down at him, the gun no longer in her hand. He saw she was staring at the floor, but not at him. He followed her eyes and realized who Emily was staring at. Dawn was on the floor and blood was coming out from her. Dawn had taken the shoot for him. "Oh, God no!"

Ash crawled to where Dawn was and turned her over. Her face noted her fear and tears would not stop coming out. He began shaking and hyperventilating once he saw where the bullet had hit her. Blood was coming from the right side of her belly, where her elbow hit her waist when resting.

"Ash…the baby…"

Ash took out his cell phone and began dialing the emergency number. He could already hear footsteps running up the stairs. As he was on hold for someone to answer, he heard another gunshot being fired very close to him. He turned around and saw Emily shooting herself in the leg. She fell to the floor and began moaning in pain.

"_What the fuck did she do that for?"_

He ignored the now injured Emily as someone answered his call. The Pokémon Police arrived at the scene as he was giving out his location for an ambulance. Indigo Plateau was a small town compared to the rest. An ambulance would arrive in no time.

"Ash…I'm sorry…I couldn't let her kill you…"

"Sshhh…don't say a thing, Dawn. Save your energy, I need you to be ok. Calm down."

Dawn nodded but continued to sob. The Pokémon Police began calling their own emergency crew when they saw Emily on the floor. "What the hell happened here?"

"Ash…Ash Ketchum tried to kill me!"

Ash turned around and gave Emily his most distasteful look. "Shut the fuck up, liar! It's your gun!"

"Yes, it is. I was trying to defend myself from him. He threw a phone to me…I'm still bleeding."

The officers stared at Ash and then at Dawn. They walked towards Ash and asked him to stand up. "I'm afraid you'll have to go with us to the Pokémon League police station."

Dawn tried to open her mouth to speak on Ash's behalf but he placed a hand on her lips, shaking his head. "You can better help me if you are _not _in jail."

"But…Ash…"

"I'll be fine."

Ash slowly stood up and was relieved to see the paramedics had arrived. He turned around to the officers and lifted his hands when he saw a gun pointed at him. "Could I at least get some medical attention? Maya tried to kill me; she shot me in the shoulder."

An officer walked close to him and saw that he was telling the truth. He called more paramedics to examine him and they told the officers they had to take him to the hospital. The officers were hesitant to let him go, but they had no option. "Fine, we'll just go back to the station and keep and eye on the outlaws."

Ash looked up and stared at the officer. He was being strapped to a gurney and getting ready to be taken downstairs. "What outlaws?"

"You'll see outside."

Ash looked around himself as he was carried down the hall and the stairs to the main lobby. His eyes wandered everywhere trying to see what he thought the officer had meant when he said the word _outlaws_. The paramedics took him outside and he was surprised to see several police cars and at least three ambulances. Trainers and members of the League were standing right behind the _Do Not Cross_ yellow strips that surrounded the area.

He could feel the pain on his arm become numb as the serum the paramedics had injected him was taking effect. His eyelids began feeling heavy as he stared at his own feet. His body became completely relaxed and his eyes finally gave in to the anesthesia. Had he remained awake for one more second, he would have been able to see a handcuffed Misty Waterflower and Gary Oak getting into two different police cars. The former residents of Cerulean had turned themselves in at the break of dawn.


	9. Trial: Part 1

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 9: Trial - Part 1**

_"Tonight in Eye Witness News, the story of the moment unfolds. Join us in our special coverage about the current situation of the Pokémon League. It all began when Maya Amherst took over the Pokémon League by surprise when she beat the Elite Four, and became the first Pokémon Master to become the Pokémon League President. Her experience and personality captivated the hearts of the Elite Four who saw her as the person who would save the League's reputation from certain doom. Isn't it true, Dave?"_

_"That's absolutely right, Karen. Amherst quickly gained fame as she changed the battling regulations of the Kanto League, raising the bar for all challengers and Gym Leaders alike. She took the best comments from critics and made changes that the League of Kanto had never seen before. She struggled, and so did the new representatives of the League, but for a brief time, the Kanto League became the most respected Pokémon association of them all."_

_"Or so they thought until the Cerulean Pokémon Gym Leader set fire on her own home. Aided by the Pokémon League representative, Gary Oak, Misty Waterflower tried to set her own death to escape allegations that she was mentally unstable. The affair that Waterflower and Oak had turned them into outlaws who escaped the law for weeks after the incident. Members of the League tried to aid them escape, only to realize their actions would lead them to jail. Becca Gall, Bryan Gall, Copycat, Professor Oak, Nurse Joy of Saffron, and others have all fallen victims of their own mistakes."_

_"Mistakes that now are faced by the perpetrators themselves. Yesterday, in an unexpected twist of fate, Gary Oak and Misty Waterflower appeared in front of the Elite Four's living quarters to turn themselves in. They claim that the League has set them up and that they have irrefutable proof of their allegation, but while this is proven, they are now under custody of the Pokémon League's authorities."_

_"That's correct, Dave. And, to make matters worse, the Pokémon Master himself allegedly tried to murder the Pokémon League President to take over the League. Dawn Hall was shot in the process and is now in the hospital. More on this, tonight…"_

The security guard turned off the television before picking up a tray of food. He stood up and walked down the hall of the maximum security section of the League's prison. He was headed to the last cell on the left. He had already fed the other cells, but his least favorite inmate was in the very last cell. He opened the bottom feeding compartment and carelessly dropped the tray on the floor.

Gary Oak stared at his tray of food. He wanted to take a bite but his body ached. He had been in Indigo Plateau's prison for only 28 hours but the security guards had already had their way with him. He only hoped that Misty was not suffering as much as he was, though deep inside he knew that she was probably in the same position as he was right now.

Perhaps turning themselves in was not such a good idea.

Right after they received the letter from Ash with the new pieces of information, Misty and Gary decided it was time to stop hiding. Ash was about to ruin his career by confronting Maya –_Emily_, and they could not allow him to go down alone. He, _everyone_, had done more than enough for them. It was their turn to do something for those who helped them out.

He rolled around the floor until he reached the tray of food and clumsily tried to place some food in his mouth. He was able to eat some rice and take a sip of his water but a familiar voice made him stop.

"Chow time's over, kid."

The guard opened the door and pulled out the still full tray of food from Gary's reach. He then kicked Gary further into the cell before shutting the door.

"Don't want ya to get out," the guard said, an obvious trace of mockery was evident in his voice.

He had done that with every single meal he gave Gary. The young Oak was getting frustrated and annoyed. He needed to think what to do, but he also needed to _eat_ to think.

_"They're trying to starve me so I blame her. Not gonna happen, jerks."_

Gary Oak knew the League would resort to terrible things to get its way. Moreover, the League was now invaded by members of Team Rocket. The honesty and trustworthiness of the League was completely gone. Gary sighed and closed his eyes as he recalled Misty's face when the League's officers set them apart. Even though she was smiling she had tears in her eyes. Neither of them knew when and if they would see each other again. Their lawyer had not appeared yet, and the trial began tomorrow morning. The wait was too long for them.

He rolled on his back as he closed his eyes and thought about all the facts he had to share with the world. He knew, in fact, a _lot_ of people knew, that neither he nor Misty had any involvement in the incident at the Gym in Cerulean. He also knew that proving it was going to be difficult, but he was not going to let them win without a fight.

He sighed. Closing his eyes only reminded him that he had to sleep on the floor. He had spent countless nights sleeping in a bag in the middle of a forest or inside a cave when he traveled, but the stink of the cell he was in, and the lack of nutrients in his body increased the level of discomfort he was feeling. He concentrated on hearing the sounds of the cell. A lonely leak on the ceiling made a dripping sound ever so often. Gary could have sworn that the more he paid attention to the sound, the louder it was becoming. Not being able to hear anything else in the past several hours, he welcomed the uniform and equally spaced tapping of the water on the floor.

As he drifted off to a state of marginal consciousness, he could not help to wonder about the whereabouts of _his_ girl. Perhaps saying that she was his girl was pushing it too far, but he knew she was not Ash's girl anymore.

He thought about her features. The way her now long hair fit the shape of her face, and how her left bang partially covered her face. She had grown so much in the past ten years, she had become a woman: A woman who was successful in what she did until Emily decided to take her revenge.

_"What in the world does Maya have against Misty?"_

He had played possible scenarios in his head, but there were none that had enough weight to somehow justify Maya's actions. Realistically speaking, who, in their right mind, beats their ass to become the Pokémon League President in Kanto with no other purpose than to attain the means to carry on revenge?

_"It must be a woman, thing."_

A loud bang on the door brought Gary back to bitter reality. He stared at the slowly opening door only to see the obnoxious League officer was back. Gary prepared his mind to resists another beating, but it never came. Instead, the officer looked down at Gary before picking him up as if he were a rag doll. The officer made sure Gary was handcuffed before turning him around and pushing him forward out of the cell.

The officer locked the door behind him and began taking Gary down the hall. The smell of food took the worry off Gary's mind for a few steps. He filled his stomach with as much scent of warm food as he could before he was turned at the corner of the hall and taken to a room he had never been before: The visitation lobby.

Gary wondered who the hell was out free to visit him. Almost everyone he knew was in jail or dead, and he doubted that Ash would visit him so soon. While it was true that criminals were also part of his job description, the Pokémon Master definitely had better things to do, Gary thought. He had heard that Dawn was in some of accident, but the chaos of the night the outlaws turned themselves in was overwhelming even for the playboy. Gary knew that Ash's concern at the moment was Dawn and the baby's safety.

As they arrived to their final destination, Gary did not bother to look up as he was pushed inside the visitation lobby. He was able to see other prisoners speaking to people behind the glass wall through the phones. He just kept walking towards the direction the League officer had pushed him to. He found the chair and slowly sat down. He was glad to feel that his handcuffs were more flexible than before and allowed him move around with some minor restrains. He stared at his hands before slowly lifting his gaze and locking eyes with someone he was not expecting at all.

He tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows to show his confusion. He slowly grabbed the phone with his left hand without moving his eyes from the unexpected visitor. The visitor mimicked his movements and picked up the phone as well. As soon as Gary felt the phone was comfortable placed along his face, he spoke.

"Hello, Mrs. Ketchum."

Dehlia smiled at him, as if there was no worry in the world. "Hi, Gary! I'm glad to see you are…alive."

Gary sighed. He knew what she meant. If it was not for the intervention and meddling of the media, the League would have killed, chopped, and packaged what was left of his sorry ass to different locations in the Orange Islands.

"What brings you here?"

"Well," she began, "I like to speak with my clients before I represent them."

Gary's face showed a ridiculous amount of confusion. Dehlia smiled again. "I'll be your lawyer, Gary. Yours, Misty's, Misty's sisters, Jen's, Becca's, Bryan's, Britt's, Nurse Joy's, Samuel's and…Ash's."

Gary took a step back. "Ash's?"

Dehlia nodded. "Yes, he was arrested at the same time you and Misty turned yourselves in. He had a _severe_ fight with Maya Amherst."

"How in the world…"

"It's a long story that I have already discussed with him. I've also gotten all the other's alibis and confessions. I need yours and as soon as we are done here, we will meet with everyone else involved to get this mess straightened out."

Gary nodded in agreement, though his face showed more concern than he would have wanted to demonstrate. Dehlia, being the all-aware woman that she was, gave Gary a look that told him she knew something was wrong. Gary took the invitation and shamefully voiced his concerns.

"Ms. Ketchum, and I say this with the utmost respect, do you…have a clue…about law?"

Dehlia smiled. "Even my own son asked me that question."

"And what was your answer?"

"Before Ash was born, I was the DA for Kanto. I left the practice to become a mom."

Gary could not hide his surprise. "I…had no idea…"

"I wrote some of the laws we have in place now. I either get you kids out of this, or I go in there with you."

Gary smiled and could not help to feel a little bit more confident knowing that someone who knew almost all of them was going to be on their side. He had no idea how the judicial system worked, and he was glad to see that he could put his total trust on his –their, lawyer. Dehlia Ketchum could talk to you sweet, but she could stab you with her words rather quickly.

"Ok, Gary. I need to know some things before we meet with the rest."

"Alright."

"And I need you to be completely honest to me."

He nodded.

She took out a notepad and a pencil, and then found a blank sheet of paper on the notepad. Gary could not read what she had written on it before, but he could clearly see she was taking this situation very seriously. He counted at least thirty-five pages of notes about the case along with descriptions of certain laws.

Without looking up to him, and getting ready to write, she spoke. "In your own words, tell me what happened."

This could take a while.

Gary scratched his neck and gave out a face that showed he was trying to find a way to start answering Dehlia's question. He knew there were some things that he wanted to be left unsaid, but there was no way that she could successfully represent all of them if she did not have all the facts.

"Mrs. Ketchum, there are some things that I'll tell you that I haven't told anyone."

"Confidentiality is one of my top priorities, Gary."

He was still unsure about _confessing_ some things to her, but her word would have to do. He took a deep breath and leaned in towards the glass wall, his eyes closed in concentration.

"I think it all started when I received a phone call from Maya herself to Pallet Town. She told me about the revamping of the League, and how new positions had been created to make sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing. She said she wanted me to be a League Supervisor. I would have never accepted if I wasn't tired of research back then…at least for starters…"

"Why else would you have accepted the position?"

"Well," Gary began feeling awkward already. "After I had met with her to discuss the job duties, I realized that she knew more about me than I know about myself."

"What do you mean?"

"She…well, she knew about an incident that occurred when I first started training; back when I was a kid."

"Go on."

"I was in Cerulean, and had been waiting to battle Misty's sisters, particularly Daisy, all day. I was the last one in the list for the day, and had been waiting in the Gym forever. After the last person before me came out, I went right in and got ready for battle, but it turns out that I was making Daisy late for a date."

"So?"

"So…Daisy gave me the Cascade badge…without a battle. She said she had to get her nails done or something. I knew I should've battled her the next day, but I didn't want Ash to catch up with me. I'm not trying to find excuses, but I was an arrogant idiot back then."

Dehlia made some annotations, her face unchanged at Gary's deepest secret confession. He was expecting her to be more surprised about it, but either she had an incredulous amount of professionalism, or she had been told this before by Misty or Ash, or perhaps Daisy herself.

"What does this have to do with being a League Supervisor?"

"The job was tedious, and I was assigned to monitor Misty in Cerulean. I really didn't want to supervise Ash's ex-girlfriend."

"So you refused?"

"Yes, but Maya said that it'd be good for me to go and help Misty have a better  
Gym so other kids wouldn't get the badge for free like I did."

"So she was blackmailing you."

"In a way, yeah. She never openly came out and said it, but she has a way to tell you things that sound like a casual conversation, when in reality she is telling you what she wants you to do."

"So you went to Cerulean against your will?"

"I surely did. Once I got there I saw the poor state the Gym was in. It kinda gave me a reason to stay. Plus, I had heard how Ash broke up with Misty. It was bullshit."

As soon as the words came out from Gary's mouth, he regretted them. Here was his best friend's mother, trying to defend him, and he was talking crap about her son. Dehlia noticed his immediate regret and nodded to his now lifted up face in understanding of what he meant. Gary continued to speak.

"I mean, I knew Misty was going to be called to Cerulean before she did. I was sitting on the back side of the hill in Pallet, wondering how the hell to get out of it, and all of a sudden I hear Misty and Ash talking on the other side of it. He gave her the worst and most stupid reasons to break up with her. Maya had offered him to train with her, and Ash –as obsessed as he was with training, took it. He could have at least told her in a nice way, he made her feel like it was her fault he wasn't the Pokémon Master yet."

"Why didn't you want to help Cerulean Gym?"

"It was just awkward. I had _stolen_ a badge from them, and then I gotta tell them how to do things? Besides, after hearing the way Ash dumped Misty, I didn't wanna be around her. I was afraid she was gonna take it against me."

"But you still went."

"Yeah, I figured I could cover up my mistake once I was there, and perhaps make it up to Daisy while at it."

"Makes sense."

"It did, but the more time and energy I spent repairing the Gym, the more devoted I became to it. And the more the Gym improved, the better Misty looked. I knew she was going through hell, so I felt responsible for her happiness…bettering the Gym made her happy, so I started enjoying being there."

"How was life at the Gym?"

"At first we spent lotsa days repairing and making sure we had everything the League wanted us to do. I remember Misty ended up hurt soon after I was there. There was a Magikarp in a box she was carrying down the stairs. She got scared and fell down."

"So this the first time Misty ended up injured."

"Yeah, I was so scared. I was the one who was supposed to move the boxes but Maya called me to ask me how things were going and the phone call took longer than expected. I ended up hanging up on her when I saw Misty fall down the stairs. I called an ambulance 'cause she wasn't responding."

"What happened after that? What was your routine?"

"Once we started battling trainers, we would get up early in the morning, battle people and then spent the rest of the day doing paperwork, and part of the night training for the next day. We spent weekends catching up with more paperwork and maintaining the Gym."

"So things went smoothly? How was the population taking the changes?"

"At first they bitched about it, but soon realized the change was for real. We had a lot of people visit us, bringing their families and all. Everything was fine until we had Josh Weston visit the Gym."

"What about him?"

"I'm sure you heard it in the news. Misty defeated the guy and he didn't take it lightly. That day she battled him we took the night off and went to the city Carnival. Misty left to get some popcorn and never came back. I started looking for and we eventually found her being assaulted by Josh. He was pissed he didn't win. He had tried to rape her."

"You found her by yourself?"

"Nope, I had called the cops by then. I found her first, though. We struggled a little and the cops ended up shooting the guy in the head. He shot me too but it wasn't a serious wound."

"What happened to Misty after that?"

"She was pretty scared. It took several days of sleeping on her floor for her to get a good night's sleep. She was afraid another defeated trainer would come to get her."  
"Do you think she is over it?"

"Yeah, I think so. Then again she kinda had to when I told her we had a convention in Indigo Plateau. She didn't want to go and see Ash. She wanted to see her sisters and Brock, but Ash she was still afraid to see again."

"What made her go?"

"Pokémon League regulations. If she was absent, her probationary contract would be invalidated and she would lose the Gym. She always mentioned to me while training how her sisters and her parents were counting on her to keep their home."

"She considered the Gym her home?"

"Yeah! After all the repairing I did too."

"What happened at the convention?"

"A lot of politics, paperwork. We got the awards for not losing one battle since the Gym reopened, and for bringing the Gym back from the ashes."

"Who gave you those awards?"

"Maya…the League. They were given to us in front of everyone."

"Did you or Misty have any other important contact with Maya?"

"Nope…other than the battles we had during the convention. The League organized this Pokémon tournament no one knew about."

"Who won?"

"I did."

"Who did you defeat?"

"Ash."

"How was the situation at the Gym when you returned from the convention?"

"It wasn't good. Misty found out that I took the badge without a battle, and that Dawn was pregnant with Ash's kid. She was mad at me for lying to her; she thought I was helping her out to cover up my mistake. Which I was at first, but then…it was more than that."

"What was it?"

"I…I had fallen for her."

"Did she?"

"I don't know. But it was awkward being in the Gym. We got kinda distant; wouldn't talk as much."

"How did you feel?"

"I was pissed off! I had never had a friend, you know? I mean, yes, Ash was my first, best and oldest friend, but I didn't have someone to be there for me like Ash did. It was different, and then it was gone. I knew I should have told her sooner but I just couldn't make myself do it. After all those months had gone by it wasn't any longer an issue of me cheating, but instead an issue of me not trusting her well enough to tell her."

"You didn't trust her?"

"I did…but…I knew she would be mad. I didn't want her to be mad at me. We were so close to finishing the project! I wanted to become a trainer again, this time with her by my side."

Gary growled at the realization that he had said too much. He massaged his neck as he exhaled deeply. This was the easiest part of the story and he was already becoming uncomfortable by the second.

"She and I didn't speak until Jake Dragon came by and messed up our Gym."

"Jake Dragon. What did he do?"

"Asshole broke the rules and brought a Pikachu with an underwater breather, and then ordered him to use thunderbolt while inside the pool." Gary exhaled sharply. He hated remembering that moment.

"It all happened to fast, but then so slow at the same time. One moment Misty is so close to her victory and then she is floating inside the pool, drowning…and I can't get to her. Water is rising; the pumps got screwed up and don't stop pouring water inside the Gym. The alarm goes off and everyone is trapped inside. Pieces of glass float around, cutting people, making Jake's Pikachu go blind. Misty…she's…"

Gary's fists were white and shaking. Dehlia did not know the full details of the incident, and she had never thought they had affected him so much. Heck! He did not even know it _had_ affected him so much. It had been at least a couple of months since that, and he still felt upset and useless. Gary Oak would take the feeling that he could have done more for her to his grave.

"I lost track of her, she was reaching the bottom of the Gym. Jake's Pikachu found her after I saved his and Jake's butt from death. I got her out and she wasn't breathing. I gave her CPR…again and again. She wouldn't come back to me."

Gary closed his eyes and his voice trailed off. Dehlia could see now that the rumors that the playboy from Pallet Town had fallen for the tomboy of Cerulean Gym were absolutely true. No one knew when and how it happened, but there was no doubt that the assumptions were true. Somewhere between Ash's birthday party and sitting here in this visitation hall, Gary Oak had fallen in love with Misty Waterflower.

"I don't remember what happened. I woke up in the hospital, but was released soon. She was released a few days after that. I went to get her. I felt awful. I didn't know how to handle the whole situation. I had never been so attached to someone for such a long time. We didn't speak much after this until I had to leave. Until…until I told her…that I loved her…"

Dehlia had to hold on to every single amount of professionalism she had. While she knew most of these situations beforehand –as she had been told by Misty herself, Gary's passion in his words was something she was not expecting. He had suffered a lot in the past months, and the more he tried to fix the issues, the worse the issues became.

"We had a fight and I left the Gym. I was heading to Indigo Plateau. But then I saw him, that son of a bitch. Jake. He was coming out of a coffee shop. He teased me. He said some person named Emily Dragon wanted to kill Misty. He denied being related to her, and he knew that the Gym was on fire. I left my belongings behind to go get her. They included my final reports to the League. He must have taken them. No one has seen them."

"Why did you run away?"

Gary sat back on the chair, placing his palms on the table in front of him. He held the phone between his shoulder and his face as he shook his head. "I got a text message from Becca saying that the League was going to press charges against us. I was mad. I was going to try and clear this from affront but then I heard a couple of nurses say that the League thought we were an item, and that we had broken the law. And then I saw her…she was…broken…"

"Broken?"

"Her body…she was bruised, scratched…scrapped…_raped_…"

"Raped?"

"Butch from Team Rocket raped her."

"How do you know?"

Gary continued to tell Dehlia the story about what had happened in the Gym. He stuck to his side of the story as Dehlia knew Misty's side of it. She was glad to see that the stories matched and complemented each other…as well as James' side of the story.

He then explained what had happened to them while they were out, and how some League Gym Leaders had helped them along the way. Finally, he told her what Ash had told them about his findings, and that was why they had decided to come back, even though it had been too late for Ash.

"How is Dawn?"

"She's fine. The wound was superficial, nearly missed her. As long as she is very cautious, she and the baby will be fine."

Gary nodded. "What kinda wound was it?"

"Emily Dragon shot her trying to shoot Ash."

Gary's eyes widened. He felt a little of hope come to him as he realized that Dawn could testify against her. Maybe there was a chance that they could all get out of this! Maybe all of the sacrifices had been worth their time and pain!

"Was Emily arrested too?"

Dehlia shook her head. "She claimed she shot in self-defense. Ash threw a telephone to her head. Ash had one shot on his body. As you know, the League's officers are not very…reliable. Ash's situation was immediately dismissed and taken as a matter of vengeance."

Gary sighed again. This was turning to be more complicated than originally thought. Gary had been waiting to ask a question since he heard Dehlia was going to be their lawyer. He had wanted to ask someone, anyone, since he got locked in. He pushed himself forward to the glass door as he held the phone tightly in his hand. "How is she?"

"She asked me the same question."

"So?"

"She is ok. Frightened, but confident that everything will clear up. You'll get to see her in a moment. I've visited everyone for separate alibis, and now you'll go with me to a meeting room in this floor where everyone else is waiting for us."

Gary could not hide his smile. While he knew the situation did not allow for a moment of peace, he was glad to know he would get to make sure that she was alright. He also wanted to know how everyone else was doing. There were so many things that he wanted to tell everyone, but he doubted he would have the time to express it all.

Dehlia eyed the security guard. He stood up and picked up Gary with the care of a baby. Gary knew that he was only being nice because his lawyer was around. He knew that as soon as she was gone, the handle-with-care attitude would immediately disappear. He decided to enjoy it as much as possible.

Gary was led to another room on the opposite side of the building. Dehlia walked right next to him, saying absolutely nothing. They arrived to a door that seem out of place, as it was made out of wood and showed maintenance. The security guard opened the door and allowed Dehlia and Gary to go inside. Gary took a quick scan of the room and saw three other armed security guards stand up and leave the room before shutting down the door. Dehlia looked at the security guard that had brought Gary and told him he did not have to stay. "I feel very safe here."

Hesitant, the security guard bowed to Dehlia, glared at Gary, and left. A unanimous sigh was heard in the room when the door was locked. Gary's eyes searched for Misty's. She stared at him and offered him a weak but meaningful smile. He then stared at Becca, Bryan, Jen and Britt. Jen shrugged and gave him a lopsided smile. "I know; we look like hell."

Gary chuckled and continued to scan the room. He then saw Nurse Joy from Saffron and bowed to her. "I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as your ass is gonna be when we get out! I'm gonna kick it as soon as we are free."

Gary nodded in acceptance of his punishment. He knew she could beat him and it still would not make up for what she did for them. His eyes continued to wander and he saw Misty's sisters. They were sitting around Misty. He could not believe he had missed them when he first laid eyes on her. "Glad to see you're alive, kid," Daisy said.

"As alive as I can be," he said.

He looked to Daisy's right and saw the worn out facial expression of an old man. His heart ached to see him like this. Even though his face had always denoted his age, he had never seen his grandfather this broken. Gary could only imagine the pain Dehlia was going through, seeing him locked up in here. Gary swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "Gramps…I'm sorry…you…of all people…shouldn't be here…"

The room went silent, everyone lowering their heads. Everyone in the room knew Professor Samuel Oak. They understood the pain that Gary was feeling seeing his foster parent being dragged down to this. Even though no one had ever said it, or even attempt to imply it, they all knew that Gary Oak blamed himself for destroying the personal and professional career of renowned Professor Oak.

"Don't sweat it, Gary. You always told me I needed a vacation."

Weak smiles appeared on everyone's faces. They knew he was trying to lift some of the guilt from Gary's chest, but the only way this could truly be done was to prove the League was conspiring against them.

After another bow to his old man, Gary's eyes wandered to the opposite side of the room. Sitting right next to his lawyer was his oldest friend, starting intently back at him. Gary did not know what to say or do. Ash chuckled and shook his head. "If you give me your Blastoise, we can call it even."

Gary's eyes widened and then returned to normal when he saw Ash's joking face. The last time they had been in the same room, sparks had flown all around. While he knew that they still had unfinished business to discuss, he was glad to see that at least for the time being, friends _would be_ friends.

Dehlia cleared her throat to catch everyone's attention. All heads lifted and eyes focused on her. She stood up, her notepad in her hand, and asked everyone to sit around the rectangular table that was in the middle of the room. Everyone did as instructed and paid undivided attention to the agent of the law.

"It seems we have a pretty strong case in our hands, the only obstacle I see is the fact that this trial is set to take place in a closed court room in Indigo Plateau. If we want real justice to take place, we need to get the media here."

"Can you do that?" Daisy asked.

"I've been working on it since I was told Ash was arrested. I will be hearing a final decision tonight. The trial begins tomorrow."

Misty took a deep breath and covered her eyes with her hands. Ash patted her on the back, a move that Gary could not leave unnoticed. When she did not react out of the ordinary, Gary's senses returned to normal. "Can you appeal their decision? We all know that Team Rocket is going to be behind the trial. Shit, this entire place is filled with the Rockets!" Ash said.

"What?" Gary asked.

Ash nodded. "I spoke to James, from Team Rocket. He told me that Emily Dragon –Maya Amherst, brought her entire staff here. Every person working here is really a Rocket in disguise."

"You trust James?"

"He ain't as bad as you think."

Dehlia nodded to Ash's response as she informed them that James had agreed to be a witness in their favor. "He can say who Emily Dragon is, point to her in court. He can confess to Team Rocket's take over the League, show why the League is corrupt and shouldn't be trusted."

"It's a long shot," Gary said. "Do you think he will confess against them?"

"He will," Ash began. "He was a member of Team Rocket only because Jessie was in it too. Now that she is gone…well…let's say he has nothing else to lose."

"What about that talking cat of them?"

"No one has seen him since the boss of Team Rocket died."

"Maya probably killed it…like she killed Pikachu."

The room went silent as they all stared at Ash. Dehlia picked up where her son had left, knowing how difficult it was for him to find out he led Pikachu to his grave. "Maya poisoned Pikachu in small doses that were almost impossible to detect. Ash said that she confessed to killing Pikachu and…"

Ash took a deep breath. He looked up, his eyes clouded by small tears. He turned around and stared at Misty, who was trying to console him. "Misty, there is something you should know."

Gary did not like the tone of Ash's voice. He was ready to jump over the table and beat him up if needed.

"When I confronted Emily or Maya, whatever, she told me why she is after you."

"Go on."

"A long time ago, your family and her family battled for the Cerulean Gym."

"I remember that," Violet said.

"Well, like you know…your parents won the Gym. Maya's family was left bankrupt, and was in financial trouble for years. One day, they were offered to fight for a Gym in the Orange Islands. They took a plane to get there, but their plane crashed. They didn't make it."

Misty covered her mouth with her hand. "That's terrible!"

"Emily was left to take care of her brother, Jake."

"Jake turned out to be an asshole," Becca said.

"Emily couldn't continue her dream of training Pokémon because she had that jerk to take care of. One day, two years after her parents' death, she took matters into her own hands. She knew that the owners of the Cerulean Gym were flying to Indigo Plateau. She messed with the plane…and it crashed."

"Mom…dad…" Lily whispered.

Ash lowered his head. "She wanted to get even, or so she thought. She is the one responsible for the crash that killed your parents, Misty."

Misty closed her eyes. It was not easy to know your parents had died when you were young, but it was worse to know that they were not supposed to die at all. "That's not all."

"There's more," Misty said in a broken voice.

"I'm 'fraid so. Once she was relieved of her guardian duties, she went on to start her Pokémon training life. She was very bad compared to the younger kids. She got defeated by your sisters several times. The last day she lost a battle against the Cerulean Gym, another kid was waiting in line to battle. Daisy gave the badge for free to this trainer because she had a date that night, and she was running late in getting ready."

"No…" Gary said as memories of the scene came back to his head. He remembered seeing Emily Dragon. He remembered how upset she was that she had lost. The image of her face overlapped with the image of her picture on the Wall of Fame in Cerulean. This was why she looked so familiar to him. _"I'm responsible for this…"_

"Emily saw this and got upset. She trained and trained until she was the best and became the Pokémon Master of the Kanto League. It was the only way she could have her revenge without being bothered. She wanted you, and your sisters, out of the map."

Misty held her head with her hands. She could not believe the amount of information she had to understand. This was all over a stupid Gym? Her parents died, she almost died, and her sisters almost died over a stupid Gym?

"She…god…she waited, all these years; planned it all. Make me look insane. Send her brother to kill me."

"And blackmailed me to help her without knowing I was," Gary said.

"How did she blackmail you, son?"

Gary looked at his grandfather. He knew how hard this would hit him. While Gary had eventually become one of the best trainers and researchers in the world, the mistake he had made in his early travels was finally coming back to bite him in the rear. Tomorrow they would be going to trial, and if he had to let go of his reputation in order for them to be freed, so be it.

"I –I was the kid who got the badge for free."

A gasp was heard in the room. Only Daisy, Ash and Misty knew about it. All eyes fell on Gary –eyes that he avoided at all costs. "Is that true, Gary?"

Gary nodded.

"Hey, back off. She blackmailed me too."

Everyone's eyes shifted from Gary to Ash. Had he gotten a badge for free too?

"She brainwashed me into leaving Misty and Brock behind with the promise that she would train me to be the Pokémon Master."

"She didn't brainwash you, son," Dehlia began. "You let her brainwash you."

Ash's head fell. He had wanted to believe that he had no option but to leave them both behind. He knew he was lying to himself, but hearing his mother pinpoint his mistake was something he was not ready to deal with just yet.

"Either way, we are not here to place blame or point fingers," Dehlia said. "We are here to form a united front, and get our stories straight. Tomorrow we face Team Rocket disguised as the League. If we want to win this, we have to let go of our differences for now. We can rip each other apart once we are all free."

Even though plenty of questions were in everybody's mind, they all set aside their inquiries to give way to developing a plan that would get them all out this mess.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*

_"Eye Witness News reporting from Pokémon capital, Indigo Plateau. In just a few minutes, the trial of The League vs. Oak will begin. Much speculation has surrounded this case, and while there are several members of the League involved in this, the court has decided to name Professor Gary Oak as the head of what the League calls a 'conspiracy against the good will of the Pokémon League of Kanto.' Oh! I see the trial is starting. Let's air!"_

A bald looking man appeared from one of the back doors that lead to the Judge's headquarters. He asked everyone to rise to welcome the Honorable Judge Lanier. Everyone did as told, and after a few seconds, everyone had been seated and the trial had begun.

"In my 35 years of being a judge, I had never encountered such a situation. The Pokémon League of Kanto, led by Maya Amherst, accuses the following members of the League of conspiracy, assault, man-slaughter, animal cruelty, breaking a legal contract, arson, libel, slander, attempted murder, fraud, escaping the law, resisting arrest, and assisting outlaws to escape. Gary Oak, Misty Waterflower, Daisy Waterflower, Violet Waterflower, Lily Waterflower, Ash Ketchum, Becca Gall, Bryan Gall, Jennifer Lee, Britt Edwards, Samuel Oak, and Joy Grace, how do you plead?"

Dehlia stood up and faced the judge, her voice as calm as it had always been. "Not guilty."

There were low whispers from the crowd, but they quickly disappeared. "On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that Maya Amherst, the Pokémon League President, is withholding vital information from this court, and her association with Team Rocket, and that we have proof that she wanted to exert revenge on my client Gary Oak, and the Waterflower sisters."

"Objection!" Maya's lawyer began. "They are obviously trying to buy time and sympathy from the general population and jury."

The judge looked at Dehlia, still as calm and confident as she had always been. "Mrs. Ketchum, those are some serious accusations you are making. Can you back them up?"

"I most certainly can."

"Alright. Prosecutor, please bring front your first witness."

Maya Amherst stood up and took the stand. She was wearing crutches and had a small piece of gauze on her forehead where Ash had hit her with the telephone. Maya's lawyer stood up and began questioning Maya after her oath.

"Ms. Amherst, can you tell us what happened the day the police arrested Ash Ketchum?"

"It was the middle of the day; I was working in my office. It was supposed to be lunch time but I had many things to do. Ash Ketchum came into my office to ask me a question about his task of gathering photos of trainers. He claimed that he did not want a picture of me in the database because everyone knew who I was anyway. I told him it was standard procedure and he began yelling at me, saying that he was the one who was supposed to be known by everyone. He said I didn't deserve to be the Pokémon League President, and that he was going to make sure he got my place."

"Mom, she is lying!" Ash gritted.

"I know son, calm down," Dehlia said as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Ash Ketchum had been your mentee for months. Why do you think he changed his attitude towards you?"

"I'm sure it was because of the affair Misty Waterflower and Gary Oak have. Ash never liked Gary Oak, and when he found out they were an item, his attitude changed. I believe he blames my training for his issues."

"What about Misty Waterflower? Why did she want to burden you?"

"I do not know what is wrong with her. She is obviously unstable and needs medical help. She wanted attention and this is why I believe she set fire to her own home. Who, in their right mind would set fire to a place like that? She had been working on it for months! I regret giving her a second chance. I should have known that she wasn't ready to take over the Cerulean Gym."

Dehlia kept a straight face even though she knew Maya was lying through her teeth. She took notes of things she said, as she knew it was her turn to ask her questions once her lawyer was done. The more Maya spoke, the more Dehlia wanted to make this woman be behind bars for a long, long time.

"No further questions."

"Mrs. Ketchum?"

Dehlia nodded and stood up, her eyes never leaving Maya's. She stared at her as to warn her of what was about to come. Maya was not amused. "Ms. Amherst, or should I call you Ms. Dragon? Which one do you prefer?"

Maya glared at Dehlia; it was Dehlia turn to not be amused. "I do not understand what you are asking me."

"Do you not?" Dehlia began "I believe the jury and the honorable judge would like to be informed about your name change, right?" Dehlia casually walked to the jury and dropped several copies of the form where Maya had requested the name change. She then walked to the judge and dropped another copy before sliding one to Maya's lawyer and then to Maya herself. "Do you recognize this paper?"

Maya did not even bother to look at it. "No."

"I remind you, Ms. Amherst that you are under oath. Lying or withholding information from the court is against the law."

"I have never seen this paper in my life."

The judge read the paper, as did the members of the jury. He then looked at Maya, who was still avoiding anybody's eyes, and the paper lay in front of her. "Are you saying that you did not change your name a few years ago?"

Maya did not reply. The judge turned to Maya and asked her to answer the question. Maya did not respond. He then looked at Maya's lawyer who was just sitting there, reading through the paper herself. "If your witness does not answer the question, she will be held in contempt and the case will be postponed."

"Nonsense!" Maya screamed. "What does my name change have anything to do with this?"

Dehlia cleared her throat to catch the judge's attention. She could see that he was losing his patience with her. "Well, if your name used to be Emily Dragon, then you are related to Jake Dragon. Jake Dragon, the trainer who almost killed Misty Waterflower and partially destroyed the Cerulean Gym. Jake Dragon, the trainer who threatened to kill Misty because he lost to her. Jake Dragon, the trainer who threatened Gary Oak when he was returning to Indigo Plateau that day the Cerulean Gym caught fire."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Everything."

Maya's lawyer, not really a lawyer but another member of Team Rocket, eyed the situation and did not know what to do. Maya had told her that she only had to pretend to be a lawyer as everything had been already arranged for them to win. However, somehow the press had been involved more than wanted, and a new judge had been selected to lead the case.

"I had to change my name! That little brat would have ruined my chances of being where I am now!"

"Why is that?"

"He was always getting into trouble. How could I have managed to be respected when being related to someone like him? It is not that hard to understand, is it not? Everyone has a relative they wished they were not bonded to."

It was a true argument as Dehlia could recall several cousins she wished she had no connection with. Maya smirked glad to have a small victory in her hands. Dehlia shook her head and continued her questioning.

"Perhaps, but you could have continued your path the same way Misty Waterflower excelled in the area her sisters were not able to do so."

Maya growled.

Maya's lawyer stood up and objected to the questioning. "I don't see how this relates to the case, your honor."

"Mrs. Ketchum, can you make this relevant or move on to another witness?"

Dehlia nodded. "Maya Amherst, back then Emily Dragon, and her family had battled the Waterflower family for the Cerulean Gym. Unfortunately for the Dragon family, the Waterflower family took over the Gym. This was a great blow to the family's financial and social integrity."

Dehlia opened her folder once more and took out several papers. She began handing them to the jury, the opposing lawyer, the judge and Maya herself. "Do you recognize these papers, Ms. Dragon?"

"No," Maya said again, without even attempting reading them.

"Allow me to remind you of their meaning. These are death certificates; Ms. Dragon's parents' death certificates. They died in a plane crash while heading to the Orange Islands to apply for a Gym Leadership position."

Dehlia took a few more copies out of her folder and made the usual round around the court to hand them to the interested parties. "These are copies of the death certificates of Ms. Waterflower's parents. They died in a plane crash while heading to Indigo Plateau for a Pokémon League conference. Please note the date. It is exactly two years after the Dragon's deaths."

Maya began to glare at Dehlia. She was not aware that she knew so much about her. _"I underestimated this woman. I will have to take care of her tonight."_

"Coincidence? I think not. I have a witness, a witness who will come forth tomorrow, and who will share this information with all of you. A witness that will expose Maya Amherst for what she really is: The greatest imposter in the Pokémon League."

Dehlia took a sip of water and continued her speech. "This witness happens to be the lone survivor of the attackers who burned down Cerulean Gym. This witness will tell you what really happened, and how neither Misty Waterflower nor Gary Oak, were involved in the fire. He will tell you this woman is really the new leader of the widely known Team Rocket, and how she came to be the most powerful person in the Pokémon League of Kanto with no other purpose than to take on her revenge on the Waterflower sisters for a Gym!"

The entire courtroom became silent. Everyone stared at Maya for any hints of denial, but none could be found. She, however, tried her best to keep her cool. "I request another lawyer. I do not think the one I have at the moment can fairly represent me."

The judge stared at the jury, who nodded in consent. "You will be granted another lawyer, and we shall resume this trial tomorrow. Mrs. Ketchum, please make sure your witness is here. If what you hold is true, then your clients will be released from any charges. If you cannot prove these _serious_ accusations, the case will be granted to Ms. Amherst."

"Very well."

"This court is in recession. We shall continue tomorrow morning at nine. Court dismissed."

The judge stood up and left. The jury stood up and gathered in the back room. Maya just sat there, not wanting to move until Dehlia was nowhere to be seen. She had had it with the wench, and she was going to make sure she was nowhere to be found for trial tomorrow.

Dehlia watched as all her clients were taken away. She followed them and disappeared behind the doors. Once she was out she smiled at all of them before they disappeared behind the metal doors that led them to their cells. She waited until all of them were gone and headed to her next destination. She had to prep her witness, and it was a long flight from Indigo Plateau to Cerulean's hospital.


	10. Trial: Part 2

**Outlaw**

**Chapter 10: Trial - Part 2**

Dehlia Ketchum arrived at the Cerulean Hospital. Even though it was way after visitors' hours, her current lawyer status allowed her to pay a visit to the former member of Team Rocket at any time. She smiled at the security guard who gave her the badge that allowed access to the highly restricted area of Cerulean Hospital. While James had been much better since he was rescued from the fire, he was still kept at bay from other patients because of his delinquent background. Ash had reassured his mother that James could not even hurt a fly, let alone another human being. This was all the reassurance she needed to continue her path alone by herself. Even though all she knew about him and his confessions had come from Ash's mouth, she knew that given the situation he had nothing else to lose. All he truly wanted was for Jesse's death not to be in vain.

She played with her briefcase as she approached the turn of the hall. James' room was at the end of the hall around the corner. She needed only a few more steps to reach her destination. She had to get his confession on tape, and take him away from the hospital tonight to be able to be her witness tomorrow morning. With every step she took, she mentally reviewed the questions she wanted him to answer. Every second of his confession in court would count. She knew Maya would find a better lawyer for tomorrow. She had to bring her down while she could.

"I'll have them out of there in no…ugh!"

Dehlia felt her head take a hit. She had hit something soft yet strong. She lost her balance and soon her rear touched the floor. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the quick image of a boy running by next to her. He did not stop to help her to her feet, but he did turn around and gave her an apologetic smile. He continued to run and disappeared from sight before she could react.

Dehlia shook her head and slowly stood up, the image of his face fresh in her mind. She took a few seconds before resuming her journey as her mind bothered her with the image of the boy's face. As quick as their encounter had been, she swore she had seen his face before. Yet, for the life of her, she could not recall where from.

She finally saw the door that lead to James' room. She took a moment to compose herself. She straightened her suit and stood straight. _"Here goes nothing."_

She knocked on the door three times and waited for a response. There was none.

She knocked again, this time louder and longer. Again, there was no response.

"I'm coming in," she yelled as she opened the door. She saw James' lying on the bed, his eyes closed and his body still. "_Great!_ He's asleep."

She slowly approached him, attempting not to startle him. She left her portfolio on the small table next to the door. She reached the bed and shook him lightly, calling out his name. The former member of Team Rocket did not respond. She shook him again, this time more aggressively, and raised her voice as she called out his name once more.

James did not move. Dehlia began looking around the room, searching for the emergency button. He had gone into some kind of shock, or perhaps was highly sedated. She needed a medical expert to come help her out. She scanned the room carefully to find a dangling wire on James' bed. _"That's it!"_

She went around his bed and pulled the wire only to realize it was not the call button, but his heart monitor. She held the heart monitor in her hands and placed it back on his index finger. When she heard no beeping coming from the machine she looked up at it.

The machine was still on but had been muted.

Dehlia held her breath.

She did not allow her mind to wander at the possibilities that had created the scenario. She looked around her again, trying to find a reason why he was disconnected from the heart monitor. The sheets were intact. The room was clean. His IV was still on; but his IV line was ripped from the serum. Dehlia followed the tube that was connected to his IV line, her eyes lifting to where the IV line hung. It was not until then that she saw her worse fears come true. She did not take her eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of her as she reached for the sound button on the heart monitor machine. She pressed it once and her ears were filled with the sound she knew was coming: a steady, loud and continuous beep.

Her eyes filled with tears as she finally found the emergency button and pressed it. Her eyes never leaving the image of the syringe emptied of all air still hanging from James' IV line.

In a matter of seconds, doctors and nurses had found their way to James' room to confirm Dehlia's suspicions: James was dead. A nurse covered him with his blanket and before Dehlia could react, he was being taken out of the room.

Dehlia felt her heart break. Whether or not he had been a member of Team Rocket, no one deserved to have their brains blown up in their sleep, especially someone who had repented of all their wrongdoings. _"The poor boy…"_

Dehlia was then asked to identify herself and she complied. Her hands were still shaking when she opened her briefcase to find her lawyer badge. She clumsily looked through her papers only to have her documents scatter over the floor. The nurse helped her pick her the pictures and handed them to her in exchange for her lawyer badge. Once the nurse was sure that she was no harm to anyone, she left the room.

Dehlia took a deep breath and sat on a chair. She bent down and picked up a couple of more papers that had fallen from her briefcase. She felt the world close down on her. If she did not have proof that Maya was really the leader of Team Rocket, she would never win the case. She was so sure that James would be their savior, that she had trusted her entire case around his testimony. Using James was no longer going to help them serve justice in this case. Dehlia held her breath.

"What am I going to do? Ash…Samuel…all of them are counting on me."

For the first time since she took over the case she did not feel confident she could win, or bring Maya to justice. She rubbed her face with her hands as she forced herself to regain composure. She had to keep her cool. She was their only hope. She playfully hit her knees with her opened palms to calm herself. She exhaled deeply as she picked up her briefcase once more, and began stuffing her papers back inside again. She arranged all the pictures she had that related to the case. She placed them in numerical order and as she did, her heart skipped a beat.

She stopped her photo arranging and stared at the picture in front of her. His eyes, his hair…it was him.

She slowly flipped over the picture to read the name of the person displayed on it. Her eyes widened as she did. She lifted her head, and turned left to stare at the door. Her mind recalled what had transpired in the hall just minutes ago.

"That boy was….Jake. Jake Dragon was here."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Daisy Waterflower sat on the witness chair, a picture stared back at her. "Do you know this person?"

Daisy looked at the picture and titled her head. "She seems familiar, but, like, I don't remember from where."

"Her name is Emily Dragon. She battled you several times."

"Oh! The girl with the Magikarp! I remember! She kept bringing a Magikarp to defeat our water-type Pokémon. Silly girl! Like, Magikarps aren't very useful at first!"

The audience began laughing, making Maya Amherst's blood boil. The judge called to order and the crowd quickly complied.

"So, you know her then."

"Just from the battles, y'know? Other than that I had no contact with her. Or so I thought until I met Maya."

"When did you find out Maya was really this girl in the picture?"

"Lily told me that she had seen her battle claims when she was training to use the League's new battle recording system. I was, like, really? She said the claim had a note attached to it where the name change was stated."

"It is widely known that you and your other two sisters handed out free badges when you did not feel like battling. Is this true?"

"I, like, am ashamed to say it, but it's true. But, this is why we were working so hard, y'know? To, like, keep our Gym."

"Thank you." Dehlia said. She gave Maya's new lawyer a glance to let her know she was done with Daisy. Maya's lawyer took the floor. "May I call Becca Gall to the stand?"

Becca stood up and took her oath. She eyed Dehlia before turning her attention to the opposing lawyer in front of her. "Miss…"

"Mrs."

"_Mrs_. Gall, what relationship do you have with Gary Oak?"

"Gary Oak is an old friend of mine."

"I see, and is this the reason why you helped him escape from the law?"

"Yes. I knew he was not guilty, and he needed my help."

"So, you decided to help him to the point of placing you and your husband in danger?"

"We had to help him; he had no one else on his side."

"What did you do to help him?"

"We got him a car, got them out of the hospital, and send them off."

"Who got the car for you?"

Dehlia saw Becca's hesitation but she gave her a smile. If they wanted to win this case they had to be honest and show justification for their actions while they did so.

"Ash Ketchum."

"And who helped you with sending them off?"

"Bryan Gall."

"So, you and Bryan conspired to help Gary Oak and Misty Waterflower, escape?"

"We didn't conspire, we just helped them."

"Did you know at the time of this aid, that they were sought by the law?"

"Yes."

"No further questions."

Dehlia stood up. She asked Becca to extend her arms and show the jury her injuries. "How did you get those bruises, Ms. Gall?"

"I've been physically abused while I have been imprisoned."

"By who?"

"Security guards. They stopped a little bit when Ash came and told them not to touch me, but when they found out Ash had been arrested, they got even more aggressive with me."

The jury shook their heads.

Dehlia then walked towards Becca and gave her a piece of paper for her to read. "May you read the highlighted portion, please?"

"Medical Record for patient: Misty Waterflower."

"Do you know what this is?"

"Yes, medical records for Misty taken from Cerulean hospital."

"Do you understand what they say?"

"Not at first, but my husband explained them to me."

"Can you explain the highlighted parts?"

"Objection! The witness is not a doctor!"

"Sustained!"

"May I call a doctor to the stand, then?" Dehlia asked.

"You may."

Becca was asked to be seated back, and Bryan was asked to take over the stand and take his oath.

"Are you a medical doctor, Mr. Gall?"

"Yes, I am."

"Can you give us your medical reading of the paper in front of you?"

Bryan eyed the paper for a second before he responded. "This paper says that Misty had several bruises, scratches, burns and marks of abuse, assault and rape."

The crowd gasped.

"R-rape?" Ash whispered as he turned to face Misty. She lowered her head, not daring to see the guilt and sadness on Ash's eyes. Gary kept a straight face.

"This medical record from Cerulean Hospital states that Misty Waterflower was raped during the fire incident. The perpetrator was a member of Team Rocket, one of the members who set fire to the Gym."

"Who was it?"

"His name was Butch. I believe he died in the fire."

"Is it your medical opinion that Misty Waterflower was a victim of this fire?"

"Yes."

"In your medical opinion, do you believe Misty Waterflower shows signs of having any mental illness?"

"No, but Maya Amherst does."

Maya glared at Bryan, but he ignored her. "No further questions."

Lawrence Priest, Maya's lawyer, stood up. "I will like to call Jennifer Lee to the stand."

Jen switched places with Bryan. She took the oath and waited for Lawrence to speak. "Ms. Lee, is it true that you aided Waterflower and Oak in escaping Saffron city?"

"Yes."

"What is your relationship with the outlaws?"

"I met Gary a long time ago. I'd never met Misty until that day."

"Why did you decide to help them?"

"Because Gary is my friend and I know he would never do what the League is trying to blame him with. Besides, when I saw Misty's condition, I knew something else must have happened."

"You also involved Britt Edwards and Joyce Grace."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because two Pokémon trainers were trying to get the ransom placed on their heads. I couldn't let them get caught, at least not yet."

"Did you and Britt Edwards pretend to be Waterflower and Oak to help them escape by using your "copycat" abilities?"

"Yes?"

"Were you aware of their criminal record?"

"Yes."

"No further questions."

Dehlia stood up and asked Nurse Joy to take her place. After taking her oath, Dehlia began questioning Nurse Joy.

"What is your current field of expertise?"

"I am a Pokémon nurse."

"And before that?"

"I was a regular people nurse."

"So, based on your previous expertise in the medical field, what's your opinion about the condition Misty Waterflower was in when you saw her?"

"I was very shocked. She had several scratches, burns and bruises. It seemed like someone had beat her up until she passed out."

"What did you do to her?"

"I helped her get clean and fed her intravenously. She was very dehydrated and weak."

"Were her wounds something that she could have done to herself?"

"No. The amount and nature of her bruises had to be caused by someone much bigger and stronger than her."

"No further questions."

Lawrence took Dehlia's place.

"Ms. Grace, how do you know Gary Oak?"

"I met him when he was just a little boy. His parents died in an accident. I took care of him and his sister for a few weeks while we found his grandfather."

"So, would you consider yourself Gary's temporary surrogate mother?"

"Perhaps."

"Isn't it true that mothers would do anything for their children? Even lie for them?"

"I guess."

"Then how do you expect me to believe that what you're confessing is true?"

"Because it is true!"

"The circumstances in which you met Oak make it difficult to believe that you are giving us your unbiased professional opinion. I think you still see Gary Oak as your adoptive son."

"What?"  
"You were upset enough that he was being chased, and since you still see him as an innocent boy, you did what you had to do and lied to the officers."

"What?!"

"You told the police that the two individuals who wanted to take them into custody had beaten you up. That is not true, is it?"

"They _did_ hit me."

"But not to the extend you claimed."

Nurse Joy pursed her lips. "No further questions."

Dehlia called Ash to the stand. He took his oath and stared directly at the audience in front of him.

"Ash Ketchum, can you tell us what happened before Maya Amherst shot you in the leg?"

Ash stroke his leg as he recalled what had happened. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began telling his story.

"Gary and I had been exchanging letters for three days. He told me about the clues they had found, and gave me some leads that I investigated on my own."

"What are these leads?"

"I found out that Maya Amherst had in fact changed her name from Emily Dragon. That she has a brother named Jake Dragon, and that he was responsible for the accident that Cerulean Gym had when he attempted to win a battle by using a Pikachu with an underwater breather."

"Are these underwater breathers available to the public?"

"No. They are specially made for the League."

"How do you think Jake Dragon got his hands on one of these underwater breathers?"

"Maya gave it to him."

"What proof do you have?"

"We keep an inventory of the supplies we order. I know how many breathers were given to the Gym, and I record the serial numbers and track who has checked them out. Maya had asked me for one, just days before the accident in Cerulean's Gym took place."

"Objection, how does that prove that she gave it to Jake?"

"I looked at the police report. The evidence was still at the station. The serial number matches the one Maya took from me."

The judge looked at Maya. She whispered something to her lawyer and allowed Ash to finish his statement.

"What other leads or information did you find?"

"I found that Maya, or Emily, had lost her parents when they were young. Like you said before, the date of when Emily's parents died matches the date Misty's parents died. She confessed she had killed them."

"When did she confess to such thing?"

"That day she shot me. She didn't like that I asked her about the picture of Emily Dragon to use for her claim. She had dyed her hair and allowed her hair to grow. I didn't see the connection until Dawn Hall saw the picture when she was in my office and told me it was Maya."

"How does Dawn Hall know this?"

"Dawn, Becca and Jake went to the same school. Both Becca and Dawn met Emily Dragon. Dawn even dated Jake."

The crowd gasped, for the twentieth time that day.

"When I demanded an explanation, Maya told me how she killed Misty's parents, and my Pikachu, and how she set up everything to make it look like Gary and Misty were the real criminals. She lied! She has been lying to all of us!"

"You ungrateful bastard!" Maya stood up and yelled at Ash. Lawrence pulled her down to her seat and asked her to be quiet. The crowd reacted at Maya's outburst and the judge had to call for order once more.

"Ms. Amherst, refrain yourself from doing that again or you'll find yourself in contempt. Please continue, Mrs. Ketchum."

"Thank you. What did Maya do when she found out you knew the truth."

"She confessed to every crime she did. She told me she had done it because she was jealous of Misty, of all of us. She said we had it easy to get where we were: Researcher, Gym Leader, and Pokémon Master. She said she had to struggle and always lost."

"What else happened?"

"She said she hated Misty because it was her family's fault that her parents died. She hated Gary because he beat Daisy in her first try. And he used me to get her revenge against Misty."

"What happened next?"

Ash exhaled deeply. "Then…then she told me that she had killed Pikachu. That she had poisoned him. I lost it and threw her telephone at her. Hit her on the forehead."

"What did she do?"

"She told me she was going to let me go free but that I had screwed it up. She said no one would believe me, and took out a gun."

"Did she fire right away?"

"No. I told her that what I did was for Misty's sake, because I loved her."

Misty's heart began beating faster. She felt Gary clench up next to her. Even though this was part of his confession, and Gary had always known how Ash felt about Misty, it never ceased to make him feel jealousy whenever Ash spoke this way about her. If they lived through this, he would have to deal with the fact that Ash had her first.

"What did she respond to this?"

"She said I didn't know anything 'bout love. She said that she knew what it meant to love and lose someone. That she had loved and lost her only love: The leader of Team Rocket; Giovanni."

The judge could not help to stare between Ash and Maya. Her eyes filled with tears but she held them back. The judge turned to Ash and directed a question at him. "Are you referring to Giovanni, the late leader of Viridian City's Gym?"

Ash nodded.

"Maya took over his place as the leader of Team Rocket. James could have told you that if…if he had not died last night."

The crowd again reacted to the news. Whenever they thought nothing else could surprise them, another confession would swipe them off their feet.

"What do you mean, died?"

Dehlia cleared her throat to get his attention. She picked up a letter that confirmed his death at Cerulean's hospital and handed it to the judge.

"He was my witness who knew all the information about Team Rocket. I went to visit him last night and I found him dead. Air had been injected into his IV line."

"Who did this?"

"The police found fingerprints on the syringe. Apparently the murderer got nervous when he heard my footsteps down the hall. He forgot to take back the syringe and then bumped into me."

"Do we have a name?"

"Yes, sir. His name is Jake Dragon."

Everyone in the court turned to Maya. She did not stare back at anyone.

"Jake Dragon had run-ins with the law before. It wasn't difficult to match his prints."

The judge looked at the jury. They were as surprised as he was. He motioned to Dehlia to continue her questioning. Dehlia turned to Ash and asked another question.

"After she told you about Giovanni, what happened?"

"She went crazy, she shot me on my shoulder and I fell to the floor. She shot me again but Dawn Hall got in front of me. She was shot. Maya then shot herself in the leg to claim I had hurt her. After that everything went fuzzy. I was given a sedative and woke up in my cell."

"No further questions."

Lawrence stood up. "May I call Gary Oak to the stand?"

Ash stood up and Gary took his place. After taking his oath, Maya's Lawyer began questioning Gary Oak.

"Mr. Oak. Is it true or not that you and Misty had a romantic relationship during the term of your contract."

"That is not true."

"That is what both you and Ms. Waterflower have told us. However, I have something that I want you to watch."

Maya's lawyer took out a remote and activated the big screen TV hanging on a corner of the room. Everyone looked up and saw as the video began playing, showing Gary and Misty kissing, not once but twice. One had been the kiss they had shared in her room before they departed to Indigo Plateau. The second kiss had been the one they had shared in her room during the conference.

The audience began to murmur at the scenes. Ash could not help to growl. "What were those, Mr. Oak? Acts of kindness?"

"Mistakes."

"Mistakes?

"Yes. I thought that Misty could feel something for me, but she was still in love with Ash."

"So, you tried to entice her, then?"

"Yes, but nothing ever happened beyond that."

Maya's lawyer smiled as he approached Gary and gave him a handful of papers. He asked Gary to read the highlighted portion of the third page.

"A Pokémon League Supervisor should not, under any circumstances, hold a romantic or sexual relationship with a subordinate while under contract. This included, but may not be limited to: dating, inappropriate touching or insinuating of any kind, or any and every other gesture that might imply a relation other than comradery between the Supervisor and his/her subordinate."

Gary finished his reading and looked up to the lawyer, his straight face untouched. "I'll ask you again, Mr. Oak. Did you or did you not hold a relationship with Misty Waterflower."

"I tried. But I couldn't. She didn't want to."

"Regardless of whether she wanted to or not, you still attempted thus relationship. This breaks your contract. If at the least, you are guilty of harassing your employees."

"Perhaps, but I didn't kill anyone who got in my way like Maya did."

If looks could kill, Gary would have been drained of all the blood in his body. Maya glared at him as only her eyes could. Her lawyer shook his head at her, asking her to remain cool. She had already lost it once, and he knew that the judge would not take another display of anger from her.

"No further questions."

Dehlia stood up, taking the stand. "Gary, why did you decide to join the Pokémon League as a Supervisor?"

"Well, the job sounded cool at first, and mine was getting kinda boring. Once I was in I realized it was not what I had signed for, but it was too late to back down."

"Why is that?"

"Because when I tried to do so, Maya threatened me. She told me she would tell everyone I had accepted a badge from Daisy Waterflower without a battle. She threatened to destroy my reputation."

The crowd gasped and chattering invaded the room. Even the judge had to take a few seconds to digest the fact that Gary Oak had just admitted to performing such an act. No one would have ever imagined Gary Oak would cheat his way to the top. After a few more seconds, the judge called for order. Again, the crowed complied.

"And how, may I ask, did Maya know that you'd been given the badge for free?"

Gary looked at Maya, returning the favor of killing her with his eyes. "Because she was the one who battled Daisy before me; she is Emily Dragon, who killed Misty's parents a long time ago."

"Objection!"

"Sustained!"

The judge cleared his throat before he spoke. "Mrs. Ketchum, we've all waited for the witness that you said would confess to Ms. Amherst crimes. Your witness is now dead. If you don't have other proof, you cannot continue making these statements."

Mrs. Ketchum lowered her head. She had no other witness and no real proof but alibis, copies of papers and hope. "No further questions."

Lawrence motioned that he had no questions either, and Gary returned to his seat. The judge cleared his throat and spoke.

"I've heard a great amount of information today. I'm sure the jury is as overwhelmed as I am. However, we cannot take this much longer. I will ask the jury to move to the back room to come to a decision. We shall return in an hour."

The judge stood up as did everyone in the courtroom. The jury moved to the back room and when they were all out of sight, the audience began chatting and staring at both parties who waited to be charged or released.

Dehlia took a deep breath and stared at all of her clients. They stared at her with a face that showed how sad they were that nothing could be done, but that they did not blame her. Jake Dragon had messed with their lives once again.

Ash turned around and stared at Misty and Gary. He had not realized how much things had changed until now. A few months ago he and Misty had become an item, his dreams finally realized. And now, Gary and Misty had bonded, and he was soon going to become a father. A father who would not be there for his child because he would be in jail for a long, long time, just as his own father had disappeared on him.

He stood up and walked towards Gary. The crowd's chatter was loud enough to allow them both some privacy among the dozens of people gathered there. He stared directly into Misty's eyes. She gave him a weak smile. "How is your shoulder?"

Ash nodded. "I'll live. How are you?"

A moment of remembrance embraced the former couple. For a second time in months, Misty found the spark of the old Ash in his eyes. Misty would always wonder about whether or not, if the circumstances had been different, would their relationship have continued to this day. Would Ash have done everything Gary did for her? Would she have been the one to tend to his wounds?

Gary saw the moment of old love that appeared between his best friend and the woman he loved. He looked down, pain obviously plastered on his face. He slowly began standing up to leave them alone, but a kind and warm hand stopped him on his tracks. He stared at the hand placed on his. It belonged to Misty. He lifted his gaze to find hers. She smiled at him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"No…where?"

Misty chuckled. "Exactly."  
Ash could not help to notice that the feelings that Gary had confessed he had for Misty, were reciprocated. Deep inside him he had hoped to one day be able to return to her, to regain her trust, perhaps her love. He now knew that her heart was beyond reach for him. She had already given it to his best friend.

Ash looked at Gary and cleared his throat. Gary stared back and tilted his head.

"Gary, I need to talk to you."

"Sure."

Gary patted Misty on her shoulder as she saw the two most important men in her life disappear behind the jury's stand.

Gary stared at Misty one last time before fixating his eyes on Ash. Ash glared at him. "Do you love her?"

Gary was taken aback. "What?"

"Do you love her?"

Gary exhaled as he looked at the place the judge had been sitting. He shook his head and then stared at Ash. "Do you really have to ask? Of course I do."

"Does she know?"

"Yes."

"Does she love you?"

"Man, don't make me answer that."

Ash chuckled. "You just did."

Gary shook his head again. "I didn't say anything."

"You don't have to. I can see it. The way she looks at you…is the way she used to look at me."

"As if," Gary scoffed. "She'll never look at me the way she looked at you."

"I don't know about that. Look, all I ask is that you take care of her. If you…if you ever hurt her…"

"I know, and if everything I've done for her so far hasn't proven what she means to me…"

"It _does_. But sometimes things we do aren't what we think will be. I thought leaving her to look out for her Gym would be the best but…"

"But it was only the best for you. I don't know what you had in mind, but there is nothing more important to me than her."

"There was nothing more important to me than her either."

"I won't make the same mistakes you made, if that's what you're trying to say."

"I…I fucked up, I know."

"I won't fuck up. I'd rather…"

"The honorable judge is returning. Everyone return to their seats and rise."

Gary and Ash exchanged a final look of understanding. Everyone quickly returned to their seats as the jury and judge took their seats.

"Everyone may sit."

The crowd complied. The judge lifted a piece of paper he was handed by the bailiff when he exited the back room. Dehlia knew this was the final verdict.

"We have all heard a great deal of information in the past two days. The claims that had been made by the defendant have surprised us all, and had the jury switching from taking a stand for the defenders to the prosecutors, back and forth. Mrs. Ketchum presented a strong case with plenty of claims and witnesses, but she was unable to provide substantial evidence for any of her claims. Such allegations cannot be accepted with just pure here-say. On the other hand, Maya Amherst kept information from this court by not informing us about her name change. Both parties seemed to be at fault for some crime, but the party with the most faults is the one who has to face the law."

Maya could not help to smile at the words spoken by the judge. Dehlia lowered her face and waited to be found guilty of all charges. Everything they had all done had been for naught.

"This court finds the accused guilty of all..."

"STOP!"

The judge looked up and stared at the new arrival to his courtroom. The pregnant girl was sitting on a wheelchair that a nurse helped push. She stared at the judge as his face showed his annoyance with her sudden appearance.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Dawn Hall. I'm here to prove that Maya Amherst is the real criminal here."

The judge sighed as the crowd lost order.

"Look, ma'am. I don't wish to upset you in your current state, but this jury has come to a decision."

"But you can't! Not yet! Just, hear me out."

Dehlia looked at judge with pleading eyes. He then stared at the jury. A member of the jury nodded.

"Very well."

The nurse pushed the wheelchair towards the stand. She helped Dawn sit on it and the oath was read to her. She agreed to follow it and Dehlia began.

"Who are you?"

"I am Dawn Hall. I am one of the two apprentices of Maya Amherst."

"What do you have to confess?"

"Maya Amherst shot me," Dawn said as she lifted her shirt to show the wound. "I almost lost my baby to her."

"Why did she shoot you?"

"She was trying to kill Ash. I couldn't let her do that."

"Why was he trying to kill Ash?"

"Because he found out who she really was…is…Emily Dragon."

Dehlia was going to ask another question but the judge stopped her. He rubbed his forehead and spoke to Dawn.

"Ma'am, we've heard this for two days now. Do you have any proof that this is true? If you don't I will have to remove you from my quarters and sentence the accused."

"I do."

Dawn pulled out something from her purse. She lifted it up and showed it to the judge. The audience tried in vain to look at Dawn's hand but they were unable to do so with so many accusers on the bench.

The judge put on his glasses and stared at Dawn's hands. He then stared up to her and gave her a surprised look. Dawn smiled at him. "May I play it?"

The judge nodded as she placed the recorder in front of her. She pressed play and allowed everyone present to hear the contents of the tape.

_"So, what do I do with the name changer? She is kinda special. We can't have our records without her."_

_"Just use whatever picture you have from the past?"_

_"What about the name?"_

_"What about the name?"_

_"Do you want us to call you by Maya Amherst, or by Emily Dragon?"_

"_What are you talking about?"_

_"I know you changed your name. May I ask why?"_

_"I didn't change my name."_

_"Yes, you did."_

_"No, I did not. I would appreciate it if you did not accuse of something I did not do."_

_"But you did."_

_"Where did you find this?"_

_"I'm the Pokémon Master. The lives of the trainers are my job. Why did you change your name?"_

_"I had a goal in mind, just like you did. I couldn't allow a bad relationship to taint my credibility. You, out of all people, should know that, Ash."_

_"Did you really think your brother Jake would give you a bad reputation? I mean, he did try to kill Misty but I don't think anyone would've blamed you for it."_

_"Jake didn't try to kill anyone. He's just a stupid little jerk."_

_"That's not what he told me."_

"_I wouldn't believe a word he says. He likes to lie."_

_"He said you tried to kill Misty. Is that why you changed your name?"_

_"I –we, are like celebrities, Ash. Even if we have no guilt of something our relatives do, fingers are pointed at us. I bet that if your mother did something stupid, people would think less of you."_

_"They wouldn't think as less of me as if I did something myself."_

_"What is that supposed to mean?"_

_"I spoke to James. He told me everything."_

_"What is everything?"_

_"You know what I'm talking about. I know what you're doing to Misty, Emily Dragon."_

_"What do you want? A raise? A new house for your mother?"_

_"I want to know what the fuck Misty did to you to deserve to die."_

_"You have no proof I ever did anything to her. She brought this on herself."_

_"Don't play innocent with me. I know you're the new boss of Team Rocket."_

_"Nonsense."_

_"Nonsense, really? I'm sure the real police, not your Pokémon police filled with Team Rocket members, would love to know that you sent Jake to kill Misty, and that you gave him that underwater breather for him to use. That everything you have done so far was to push Misty to an inch of her sanity. You blackmailed Gary, you sent Team Rocket to the Cerulean Gym to kill her, killed those Pokémon, it was you all along!"_

_"You forgot two more things, dear."_

_"What would that be?"_

_"I also killed Misty's parents…and your beloved Pikachu too."_

The room remained silent. Dawn rewound the tape to repeat Maya's last words.

_"I also killed Misty's parents…and your beloved Pikachu too. I also killed Misty's parents…and your beloved Pikachu too. I also killed Misty's parents…and your beloved Pikachu too. I also killed Misty's parents…and your beloved Pikachu too. I also killed Misty's parents…and your beloved Pikachu too. I also killed Misty's parents…and your beloved Pikachu too."_

"STOP!" Maya screamed. "You cannot believe this! This is not me!"

The crowd stared at Maya, disgust pictured on their faces.

Dawn looked at Maya with a pitiful face. "Should I let the tape continue?"

The judge looked at the jury and nodded to him. A decision had been made. The judge called one of his officers as he pointed at Maya. "Arrest that woman."

Lawrence stood up and ran out of the room. The crowd stood up and watched the lawyer disappeared behind the doors. "Get him back here!" The judge ordered.

A handful of officers ran behind the man. Emily stood up.

"No! You can't arrest me!"

Emily began walking back until she reached the wall. She kicked and punched the officer who was trying to arrest her. She was not planning on going down easily. The officer took out the pair of handcuffs and grabbed one of Emily's arms. She struggled against him until she reached for her pocket, took out a knife, and stabbed the officer on the chest.

The officer moaned in pain as his body fell to the floor. Maya held the bloody knife in her hand. "Now it's your turn, you little bitch!"

Emily told Dawn. "After everything I did for your and this is how you repay me!?"

The judge pressed a silent alarm underneath his desk to call for back up. The only officer that had stayed behind was out cold.

Ash ran to Dawn and stood in front of her. "Leave her out of this. This is between you and me, Emily."

"No, this is between me and her," she said as she used the knife to point at Misty. Gary pushed Misty behind him.

"How far do you think you can do with a knife, Emily? There are more of us!"

Emily looked at her knife. Ash was right. There were plenty of men who could stop her in a heartbeat. Emily held her knife loosely in her hand.

"That's true," she began. "I guess I don't need this anymore."

In a fraction of a second, Emily grabbed her knife and threw it at the accusers, aiming for Misty. Gary pushed Misty out of the way and everyone ducked. The knife flew right above them and landed on the floor of the jury's stand.

Everyone faced backwards and saw Emily pull out a gun from her leg as she took a lousily aimed shot at them. The crowd began screaming and running out of the room. "She's got a gun!"

The now absolved criminals began crawling their way out of Emily's path. She walked slowly towards them as they tried in vain to avoid getting hurt. She grabbed anything in her path and threw it at them. Daisy was hit by a chair, while Nurse Joy was hit by a thick criminal law book. Lily and Violet dragged their injured sister out of the way of Emily's rage. Jen and Britt lifted Nurse Joy and took cover behind the stands where the audience had once been.

"Who should go first?"

Emily pointed her gun at Dehlia and shot. Professor Oak tackled down Dehlia and he was shot on his knee. "Samuel!"

Dehlia began pulling Professor Oak out of the scene. He gritted his teeth to avoid screaming his heart out. The bullet in his now shattered knee caused him an unbearable amount of pain. Dehlia's hands shook in fright as she saw the blood around Professor Oak's leg. "We've got to get you to a hospital."

"_I had a score to settle with you." _Emily thought as she smiled at being able to indirectly hurt Dehlia.

Emily looked up and saw the commotion taking place in the courtroom. The jury had run to the back room. The judge was nowhere to be seen. The courtroom was now empty of any audience. Dehlia held Professor Oak in her arms as the blood piled up around them. Jen and Britt held an unconscious Nurse Joy in between the audience stands. The older Waterflower sisters curled up around Daisy in a corner of the courtroom. Bryan, Becca, Gary, Misty, Ash and Dawn remained in full view.

Emily's eyes went from one survivor to the other. Ash had run to Dawn and was now holding her. Becca was partially hidden behind Bryan's body. Misty and Gary stood next to each other in front of the Galls. Misty turned back to stare at Bryan.

"I'm not going to get you in more trouble. Take Becca and find cover."

Becca looked at Misty and then at her own body. She was still injured from the abuse she had taken from the guards in Celadon's prison. Bryan nodded and pulled Becca out of the way, finding cover in between the audience and jury stands.

Misty turned back and glared at Emily. Emily gave her a full smile.

"What's the matter, Misty? You've finally decided to take responsibility for what you did to me?"

Gary looked at Ash and prompted him to hide behind the witness stand. He slowly pushed Dawn to the floor and joined the judge behind his stall. "Why aren't the police here?"

The judge shook his head. "I don't know. I've been calling them!"

Dawn sighed as she held Ash's arm. "They aren't coming. This entire place is run by Team Rocket."

All three of them took a deep breath as they opened their ears to hear what was happening in the main floor.

Gary, Misty and Emily had not moved from where they had been standing when everyone took cover. Emily switched pointing her arm from Gary to Misty. Both of them stood as still as a rock.

"Who wants to go meet their parents first? The person who lost them first," she said as she pointed to gun at Gary. "Or the person who lost them last?" she said as she pointed the gun at Misty.

"What do you really want, Emily?"

Emily scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? I want all of you dead."

"Do you really think killing us is going to make things better?"

Emily chuckled. "Who said anything about making things better? You asked me what I really wanted, didn't you?"

Emily cocked her gun and aimed it at Misty. Gary growled as he slowly began taking steps to stand in front of her. Emily stopped him in his tracks. "Stop right there or I'll shoot you first."

Misty placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to save me anymore. It's my turn to save you."

Gary looked back, his face filled with pain. He knew that with an angry, bipolar, vengeful woman standing in front of them, neither of them could be saved. She gave him a warm smile, causing his chest to ache. For all he knew, this could be the last time he saw her smile like that. Emily aimed her gun at Misty's chest. Misty did not take her eyes away from Emily's as she slowly approached her. "Team Rocket trained me very well. I am a fucking surgeon with his gun."

Emily took another step towards Misty but stopped as she heard the front door open. She took a fourth of a second to look at the intruder and shot him without regret, not wanting uninvited guests to ruin her moment of glory. It took her two extra seconds to realize she had shot her own brother who was coming back to help her.

"Jake…"

Anger took over the small amount of reason that was left in Emily's head. She ran to her brother and saw she had in fact kept her promise of having excellent aim with guns. She had shot Jake in his chest. Jake Dragon was dead.

She screamed as she turned around and saw Gary stand next to the witness podium. Her eyes shifted from Gary to Misty who was trying to reach him as well. Her fingers prepared her gun with highly skilled precision before she lifted her hand and shot. Misty tried to avoid the bullet and Gary tried to get to her in time, but all attempts were futile. A second shot was heard and both Gary and Misty hit the floor.

Ash and Dawn heard nothing more than silence coming from the courtroom. They both stood up and cringed at the scene unfolding in front of them.

The revenge that had begun ten years ago was over and done.


	11. Epilogue

**Outlaw**

**Epilogue**

The famous hill in Pallet town was adorned with flowers and chairs. White chairs were neatly placed on either side of the red carpet that lay in between. Flowers joined the sides of the chairs that faced the carpet. White flower petals adorned the carpet. Everyone present stared at the front where the holy man gave his final blessings to the couple on the ground. Ash Ketchum could not believe his eyes, and never in a million years thought this day would come.

Dawn held her baby boy in her arms and rocked him slightly. She rested her head on Ash's shoulder as he responded by resting his own hand on her knee. She could feel his tension as one of the most important women in his life was being _taken away_ from him. He knew she would be in better hands, in a better place, but sadness was still present in his body. They would still be in the same town, only a few blocks away, but he could not help to feel a great amount of distance had been placed.

The woman in the front, dressed in a plain white dress bowed to the holy man before she turned around and faced the man in the black tuxedo. He was still using a cane to walk, but if he felt any pain at all from his injury, it was nowhere to be seen. His smile was as wide as hers. He bent down and gave her a kiss. Everyone stood up and cheered for the newlyweds. He offered her his arm and she took it. They turned back to face their guests and smiled at all of them as they walked down the aisle.

A small golf cart waited for them at the end of the aisle. Ash and Dawn went around the chairs and joined the happy couple before they were to disappear from the ceremony. Ash gave his mother a big hug. "Congratulations, mom."

Dehlia looked up at her son. She never thought this would ever happen to her, her own son giving her away in her wedding. "You stay out of trouble while I'm away."

Ash nodded. "I'll be pretty busy," he said as he pointed to the sleeping baby in Dawn's arms. "He didn't stop crying until this morning!"

Dehlia smiled as she recalled when Ash cried until the wee hours of the morning when he was a baby. "Payback is wonderful," she said.

Dawn giggled as Ash frowned. "Whatever! Just don't have _too_ much fun, ok?"

Ash's eyes went from his mother to her new husband. "Don't worry Ash. I'll take care of her."

Ash nodded as he gave Professor Oak a hug. "I know you will."

"And how about your mom, Ash? Will she take care of gramps?"

The two couples turned around and stared at Gary, who had a big, bright smile on his face. "He still has a screwed up knee. He can't take much exercise, Dehlia. If you know what I mean," he said with a sly tone.

Ash crossed his arms and refused to imagine what he had meant. Dehlia giggled as Professor Oak scratched the back of his head. "Who raised you to be such an unmannered boy?"

Gary shrugged and was going to take it a step further. He decided to stop when the hand he was holding gave him a small squeeze. He looked down at her blue-green eyes and he was down for the count. "It's their wedding, Gary Oak. Be nice, for once!"

Misty shook her head disapprovingly, and Gary winced. He hated how much power she had on him. Yet, he always felt wanted when she displayed concern for him.

"How long will you two be gone, Mrs. Oak?" Misty asked.

_"Mrs. Oak." _Misty thought immediately after the words had left her mouth. _"It's so weird calling her that. Things have really changed in the past year, haven't they?"_

"Call me Dehlia, Misty."

"Right, sorry."

"We'll be gone for a couple of weeks, max. I take it you'll watch over our home?" Professor Oak said. Gary felt a blush creep up his face. "J-just don't take longer than that! Misty and I want to get going to the Hoenn region as soon as possible."

Everyone laughed at his reaction. He was obviously as uncomfortable as Samuel Oak had been with the insinuation.

"Well, we better go now if we want to catch that plane to the Orange Islands."

Dehlia gave her son and official daughter-in-law one last hug before she hopped on the golf kart. Samuel Oak did the same to Gary and Misty. In a matter of seconds they were both gone from their sight.

Dawn heard the baby begin crying again. Both new parents cringed. "At least he didn't cry during the ceremony."

Dawn patted her son on the back to ease his discomfort. When he refused to stop crying, Dawn began walking towards Ash' home. "I'll give him food and put him to sleep. We need to sleep too. The League comes to pick us up tomorrow morning."

The Pokémon Master nodded to his wife as she began her way home; they had stayed in Ash' home in Pallet town while the wedding arrangements took place. But now they had to go back to their real home in Indigo Plateau tomorrow and resume working.

"I'll catch up with you, k?"

Dawn nodded, knowing that her husband wanted to make amends with the couple in front of him. When Dawn was out of sight, Ash focused his eyes on Gary.

"We're leaving tomorrow, but you guys are staying here, uh?"

"Yeah! We're watching over gramps' house before we start our Pokémon trip to the Hoenn region. I've heard they've got pretty awesome Pokémon over there."

"I heard that too. Perhaps you can be my eyes and ears over there? We're starting a Pokémon study back at the League. The Elite Four and I are looking forward to extend the availability of Pokémon for Gym Leaders' use."

"Of course! I ain't an official researcher anymore, but I can surely do a better job than you when it comes to researching."

Ash scoffed. "Puh-lease!"

Misty rolled her eyes at the still existing childhood rivalry sparking between Gary and Ash. _"Boys will be boys."_

"Anyway, ya mind if I talk to Misty, alone?"

"Even if I did, you'd still do it."

"Sounds 'bout right."

Gary shook his head. He gave his girl a kiss before heading to the front of the chairs as he supervised the people they had hired to clean after the ceremony was done. Misty followed him with her eyes and smiled at him. She then returned her eyes to Ash and smiled at him as well.

"You feeling ok?" Ash said as he pointed to his own heart.

Misty nodded, recalling the final moments in the courtroom a year ago.

_Emily screamed as she turned around and saw Gary stand next to the witness podium. Her eyes shifted from Gary to Misty who was trying to reach him as well. Her fingers prepared her gun with highly skilled precision before she lifted her hand and shot. Misty tried to avoid the bullet and Gary tried to get to her on time, but all attempts were futile. A second shot was heard and both Gary and Misty hit the floor._

_Ash and Dawn heard nothing more than silence coming from the courtroom. They both stood up and cringed at the scene unfolding in front of them. Maya Amherst had been shot by Gary Oak in her head. Misty fell to the floor, blood coming out from her chest. Maya had hit her where she had claimed she would._

"_Misty, stay with me, ok?"_

"_Gary, w-where did you…?"_

"_The judge had one behind his desk. Ash handed it to me when I stood next to the witness podium."_

_In a matter of seconds real cops and paramedics appeared in the courtroom. Gary yelled at them that Misty had been severely injured. Misty smiled at him as her eyes closed._

"_NO! Wake up! Don't you fucking do this to me again!"_

_Misty held his hand and squeezed it before she fell limp in his arms. The paramedics took her away from him and he watched as they began giving her first aid, just as she had received back in Cerulean's Gym._

_Before Gary could react, she was taken away from the courtroom. He never saw her again until a week after that._

"Who could've thought that Emily's heart was a match for yours?"

"I know." Misty said while placing a hand over her heart. "She wouldn't have volunteered it either, if…if she didn't _need_ it anymore."

"Has the League decided on a new Pokémon President?"

"Nope," Ash said as he shook his head. "We've decided on getting rid of the position. It's too much power on one person. The League will be run by the Elite Four and the Pokémon Master from now on."

"Make sure you give Bryan that big raise. If it wasn't for him I…"

Ash placed his index finger on her mouth. He had seen her bleed out, and had felt the same pain that Gary had felt all those times he thought she was a goner. She did not need to say the d-word. Bryan Gall had performed the surgery that saved her life. He now worked for the League as the members' medical doctor. Becca had joined him in Indigo Plateau.

"What about the Gym in Viridian City?" Misty asked, trying to change the gloomy conversation.

"Jen and Britt will be taking it over next month. They excelled at their training. They're ready to kick some butt."

"I'm glad. I hope my sisters aren't giving you any trouble."

"Not at all. They really came around."

Misty smiled. She turned to her right once more to see her fiancée argue with the movers. She played with her engagement ring with her thumb as she always did. Ash could not help to notice this and feel sad.

"Is he the one you want?"

Misty looked back at him, determination showing on her face. "Would you want him to be anybody else?"

"I guess if not me…"

It was Misty's turn to cover Ash's mouth with her index finger. "Perhaps it wasn't meant to be, Ash."

Ash smiled at the way she said his name. He had not heard his name coming from her in a long time. For a second, he remembered his travels with her and all of the adventures they had together as the images flashed in his mind at incredible speeds. Whoever said that humans fail to cherish their present until it becomes their past was right on the money.

"I hope you have fun at Hoenn."

She nodded. "I'll take care of him."

Ash nodded. He gave her a big hug before kissing her cheek. She slowly broke the hug, but not before whispering in his ear. "I'll always be with you, Ash."

Ash closed his eyes as he took a step back away from her. He nodded again and put on his sunglasses to cover his tears. "I better go help Dawn. That baby is a handful."

Misty giggled. He walked past her and stared at her one last time. He saw Brock join him halfway down the hill. He waved at Misty before turning back and following the Pokémon Master to his former home.

"_Brock, take care of him for me_," she thought, remembering how these words had been spoken by her, in this exact same place, a long time ago.

Gary returned to her, frustration plastered on his face. "How hard is it to stack five chairs at a time? FIVE CHAIRS?!"

Misty shrugged. "Math is hard for some people."

Gary sighed. He placed an arm around Misty's back and pulled her closer to him. He placed his other hand on her neck, and rested his forehead on hers. "So, gramps is gone for two whole weeks….whatever shall we do in that amount of time? In an empty house?"

"I've got no clue."

Gary kissed her forehead, then her cheek, and finally placed a small kiss on her lips. "Ready to go home?"

Misty nodded. The final rays of light coming from the sun illuminated the top of the hill. She held Gary by his waist and rested the side of her face on his chest. Gary returned the embrace and rested his chin on top of her head. She watched as the sun was replaced by the moon, and recalled that night when she thought everything was over for her.

She looked up to face Gary who had the brightest smile on his face. She could tell he was happy, regardless of the pain they had to go through to get where they were now. "Lead the way?"

Gary grabbed her hand and began carefully leading her down the hill. She looked back at it one last time before placing her eyes on the boy –_man_, in front of her.

"_My story is now __**our**__ story; and our story begins__** now**__."_

**THE END**


End file.
